GIFT   OF 


00 


*  * 


.'.  ,-    ::;•;••..  : 


•.•  . 
"•'•  '•''.  '.•  1 1  .*. 

•*»     %•     •»*      * 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 


MII.ICENT  W.  SHINN. 


"The    Overland    Monthly,'' 


y,  Prints 


•  •    • ..;  ;•. 
.    •.•.'..• 


' 


From  Painting  by  Benoni  Irwin  in  the  Kacon  Library. 

PRKSIOKNT     HENRY    nVKANT. 


•  • 

•  •  «.  • 

•  .  .  •  • 
«    •  •  V 

» •     •      • 


THE 


Overland    Monthly, 


Vol.  XX.     (Second  Series).— October,  1892.— No.   118. 


I'h.jto  l.y  U'.  C.  <;ibbs 

THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA.     I. 

I.  exact  knowledge  of  the  time  —  is  given 

in  a  range  of  subjects  covering  all  the 

IT  may  be  thought,"  says  Professor    great  departments  of   intellectual   life, 
Brycein  The  American  Commonwealth,    not  more  than  twelve  and  possibly  only 


"  that  an  observer  familiar  with  two  uni- 
versities which  are  among  the  oldest 
and  most  famous  in  Europe, 
would  be  inclined  to  disparage  the  cor- 
responding institutions'  of  the  United 
States.  ...  I  have  not  found  it 
so.  ...  If  I  may  venture  to  state 
the  impression  which  the  American 
universities  have  made  upon  me,  I  will 


eight  or  nine  of  the  American  institu- 
tions would  fall  within  the  definition. 
Of  these,  nearly  all  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Atlantic  States." 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Profes 
sor  Bryce  had  a  definite  list  of  twelve 
names  in  mind  when  he  said  this.     As 
he   says   himself,  the   steps   by   which 
the   four   hundred  or  so  degree-giving 


say  that  while  of  all  the  institutions  of  institutions  of  the  country  fall  away 
the  country  they  are  those  of  which  the  from  the  greatest  universities  to  the 
Americans  speak  most  modestly,  they  least  pretenders,  are  indefinable.  Half 
are  those  which  seem  to  be  at  this  mo-  a  dozen  institutions, —  Harvard,  Yale, 
merit  making  the  swiftest  progress,  and 
to  have  the  brighest  promise  for  the 
future."  And  elsewhere:  "If  we  define 
a  university  as  a  place  where  teaching 


of  a  high  order --teaching  which  puts  a 
man   abreast   of   the  fullest   and  most 
VOL.  XX. — 30.     (Copyright,  1892,  by  OVERLAND  MONTHLY  PUBLISHING  Co.) 

Bacon  &  Company,   Printers. 


Columbia,  Johns  Hopkins,  Cornell, 
Michigan,  —  we  should  all  name  at  once 
as  the  great  universities  of  the  country : 
for  the  next  half-dozen,  we  should  hesi- 
tate and  disagree.  The  rank  of  a  uni- 
versity rests  on  a  composite  basis  of 

All  rights  reserved. 


533451 


338 


.'.  •»••.«  I    I 

*...*      .  V  • :/: :  • 


/-.  •  •..'•"  ;*'.*'*,*27^   Uifvi'er&ty  of  California 

»"•!•*•      •*••'«•  It      ••••*•*»• 


Oct. 


jflbtk 


Drawn  from  Photo  by  Gibbs 

NORTH    HALL    AND   THE    HARMON    GYMNASIUM. 


its  wealth,  its  numbers,  its  breadth  of 
courses,  its  provision  for  graduate  work 
and  for  research,  the  distinction  and 
power  of  its  teaching  force,  and  some- 
thing not  exactly  expressed  in  all  these, 
that  I  may  call  its  spirit  and  traditions. 
Some  of  these  excellences  are  matters 
not  to  be  settled  by  the  figures  of  annual 
reports ;  and  even  in  respect  to  those 
that  are  mere  matters  of  record,  one 
university  may  excel  on  one  side,  an- 
other on  another  side,  and  neither  clearly 
rank  the  other.  The  half  dozen  I  have 
named,  it  is  true,  exceed  all  others  in 
the  country  in  numbers,  advancement, 
general  scholarly  repute,  and  (except 
Johns  Hopkins  University)  in  wealth; 
but  as  among  themselves,  no  one  is  dis- 
tinctly eminent.  Columbia  is  the  wealth- 
iest ;  Harvard  and  Michigan  are  alter- 


nately the  most  numerous  ;  Harvard  has 
the  highest  matriculation  requirement ; 
and  Johns  Hopkins  the  most  advanced 
range  of  graduate  work  and  research. 
The  Clark  University,  though  too  poor 
in  money  and  still  too  much  of  an  ex- 
periment to  be  ranked  with  the  estab- 
lished great  universities,  passes  any  of 
them  in  the  place  given  to  research. 

If  one  should  try  to  name  a  second 
half-dozen,  and  give  to  each  one  its 
rank,  eighth,  or  ninth,  or  tenth,  among 
the  universities  of  the  country,  it  would 
be  still  more  an  impossible  attempt. 
Somewhere  in  this  group,  however,  the 
University  of  California  would  fall, 
judged  by  any  measurement. 

By  wealth  :  —  the  American  univer- 
sities that  have  incomes  of  over  $200,- 
ooo  a  year  are  :  — 


THI-:    CHEMISTRY    BUILDING. 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


339 


i.  Harvard .$1,026,738.20 

2  Columbia 800,000 

3-  Vale 499-720     (1891) 

4.  Michigan 400,000 

5.  Cornel! 350,000 

6.  California 306,611 

7.  Pennsylvania 275,000 

• 

Where  round  numbers  are  given,  the 
figures  have  been  brought  up  to  1891-92, 
as  nearly  as  I  could  estimate  by  the 
items  of  gifts  received,  or  enrollment  of 
students,  affecting  the  income  from 
tuition.  In  the  case  of  California,  I 
was  able  to  obtain  the  estimate  for  the 
current  year.  This  may  give  it  a  slight 
advantage  in  the  comparison,  as  all  these 
institutions  are  increasing  more  or  less 


STILKS    HALL,    THE    HOME    OF   THE    COLLEGE    CHRISTIAN 
ASSOCIATIONS. 


rapidly  in  wealth.  The  sam'e  advantage, 
of  figures  later  by  at  least  half  a  year, 
is  unavoidably  given  California  in  all 
the  comparisons. 

The  following  universities  have  in- 
comes between  $100,000  and  $200,000, 
according  to  the  latest  report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Education  ;  this  report  is 
three  years  old,  but  I  do  not  find' else- 
where reason  to  think  the  figures  have 
changed  much  :- 

8.  Wisconsin 3182,987  (1889-90) 

9.  City  of  New  York 148,560 

10.  Boston 127,523 

11.  Nebraska 117,500 

12.  Johns   Hopkins 113,702 

13.  Vanderbilt 101,500 


THE    BACON    LIBRARY. 


I  could  find  no  financial  statements 
from  Princeton  ;  nor  are  any  made  by 
the  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University.  So 
far  as  can  be  conjectured,  these  two  and 
the  Chicago  University  have  incomes 
between  $100,000  and  $200,000.  The 
universities  of  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas, 
Mississippi,  and  four  or  five  religious 
colleges,  of  which  Dartmouth  is  the 
only  one  well  known,  have  from  $75,000 
to  $100,000  annually.  There  are  2O-odd 
State  universities  that  run  thence  to 
$25,000  income ;  and  some  350  private 
colleges,  most  of  them  still  poorer. 

Where  incomes  depend  on  legislative 
appropriations,  they  are  liable  to  so  much 
variation  that  any  such  comparison 
would  be  worthless  ;  but  none  of  the 
incomes  above  $200,000  are  thus  de- 
pendent. The  University  of  California 
draws  its  income  from  invested  funds, 
and  from  a  tax  of  one  cent  on  each  $100 


THE   NEW    ELECTRICAL    BUILDING. 


340 


The    University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


of  the  State  assessment,  making  an  in- 
come not  only  very  secure  but  certain 
to  increase  for  many  years. 

With  the  same  tuition  rate  as  at 
Cornell,  this  University  would  have  as 
large  an  income.  California,  the  Leland 
Stanford,  Jr.,  and  the  small  University 
of  Kansas  are  the  only  institutions 
among  those  named  above  that  do  not 
charge  regular  tuition,  though  the  fees 
are  very  light  at  Michigan. 

The  comparative  wealth  of  univer- 
sities is  not  necessarily  quite  as  their 
income,  for  the  difference  in  value  of 
grounds,  buildings,  and  equipments,  is 
considerable.  Thus  I  have  ventured  to 
get  a  rough  estimate  of  what  may  be 
called  total  wealth,  by  putting  together 
the  value  of  grounds  and  buildings, 
funds,  and  capitalized  value  (at  a  uni- 
form rate  of  five  per  cent)  of  income 
from  other  sources,  as  I  could  gather 
these  items  from  their  reports, —  an  esti- 
mate with  too  many  assumptions  to  be 
of  much  value  :  - 

1.  Columbia $18,000,000 

2.  Harvard 16,700,000 

3.  Yale 11,000,000 

4.  Michigan 9,000,000 

5.  California 8,130,720 

6.  Cornell 8,000,000 

7.  Pennsylvania 6,800,000 

Arranging  by  numbers  of  students 
and  teachers  :  - 

1.  Michigan 2,693  students  (1891-2) 

2.  Harvard 2,658 

3-  Yale ,784 

4.  Pennsylvania ,764 

5.  Columbia ,564 

6.  Cornell ,489 

7.  California ,079         '          (1892) 

8    Boston ,038         '       (1891-2) 

9.  Wisconsin 789         '       (1890-1) 

1.  Harvard    253  teachers 

2.  Columbia .  226       " 

3.  Yale 225       " 

4.  Pennsylvania 207 

5.  California 194 

6.  Cornell 136        ' 

7.  Michigan 149 

8.  Boston 118 

9.  New  York  City 90 


The  Johns  Hopkins  University  has 
57  teachers,  and  Wisconsin  about  the 
same  number. 

Proportion  of  graduate  students  to 
undergraduate  and  professional :  - 

1.  Clark  University 100  per  cent. 

2.  Johns  Hopkins 61 

3.  Columbia 12 

4    Cornell 10 

5.  Harvard 7 

6.  Yale 4 

7.  Pennsylvania 4 

8.  Michigan 3 

9.  California 3 

10.  Boston 3 

U.   Wisconsin 3 

All  these  figures  give  but  the  roughest 
means  of  finding  the  comparative  rank 
of  a  college.  All  the  large  universities 
are  swelled  in  number  of  students  by  a 
fringe  of  schools,  not  only  of  law,  med- 
icine, and  divinity,  but  dental,  veter- 
inary, and  art  schools,  which  do  not 
require  full  university  matriculation, 
though  occasionally,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  law  school  here,  approaching  it 
nearly.  One  third  of  the  enrollment  of 
the  University  of  California  and  of  Har- 
vard, one  half  at  Columbia,  and  two 
thirds  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
(which,  indeed,  consists  first  of  all  in  its 
great  medical  school)  are  in  these  profes- 
sional schools.  In  like  manner,  a  large 
staff  of  teachers  may  mean  that  much 
time  is  allowed  the  members  for  original 
work,  or  it  may  only  be  swelled  by  a 
great  many  lecturers,  clinical  assistants, 
and  others  giving  but  partial  time,  in 
the  professional  schools  ;  or  most  like- 
ly, as  in  the  University  of  California, 
both  causes  unite. 

Were  it  worth  while,  one  might  go 
on  to  compare  the  leading  universities 
as  to  number  of  courses  offered,  or  titles 
of  articles  published  by  their  members  ; 
superficial  enough  comparisons,  for  the 
length  of  such  Ijsts  put  forth  bears  no 
certain  relation  to  value. 

In  those  less  measurable  things  that 
go  to  make  up  the  greatness  of  a  univer- 
sity, it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  University 


1892  ] 


The    University  of  California. 


341 


of  California  is  greater,  rather  than  less, 
than  its  general  repute, —  greater  than 
its  repute  in  the  East,  because  the  East 
is  ignorant  of  developments  in  letters 
to  the  westward ;  greater  than  its  repute 
here,  because  we  have  not  yet  faith  in 
ourselves  in  these  higher  matters,  and 
lean  somewhat  timidly  and  provincially 
on  Eastern  opinion.  Just  as  Professor 
Bryce  found  Americans  most  apologetic 
with  regard  to  their  universities,  —  their 
most  hopeful  institution  in  his  judg- 
ment,—  while  confident  enough  about 
their  politics,  their  press,  their  cities, 
one  may  find  Californians  bearing  them- 
selves toward  their  own  best  possession. 
The  opinion  of  men  who  have  seen 


Drawn  from  an  old  wood  cut 

THE   COLLEGE   SCHOOL. 


the  University  at  Berkeley  somewhat 
thoroughly,  after  knowing  the  best  uni- 
versities elsewhere  ;  the  ease  with  which 
its  graduates  compete  with  those  of  the 
most  famous  American  universities  in 
the  graduate  schools  ;  the  personal  cal- 
iber of  its  leading  men,  as  one  may  just- 
ly enough  measure  it  against  that  of 
distinguished  men  who  visit  us,  or  are 
known  to  us  by  their  books,  -  all  these 
means  of  estimating  the  rank  of  their 
University  justify  Californians  in  feel- 
ing that  it  holds  a  very  honorable  place 
among  those  of  the  country. 


II. 


THE  beginning  of  Harvard  within 
fifteen  years  after  the  settlement  of 
Massachusetts,  "That  sound  learning 
may  not  perish  from  among  us,"  has 


Drawn  from  an  old  wood  cut  by  Van  Vleck  and  Kehh 
THE    COLLEGE   OF    CALIFORNIA. 


always  been  a  cause  of  just  pride  ;  but  it 
was  a  matter  of  public  consent  and  pub- 
lic taxation,  a  thing  in  which  the  whole 
community  was  at  one.  The  founding 
of  the  College  of  California,  if  less  to 
the  honor  of  the  community,  was  more 
to  the  honor  of  the  small  guard  of  men 
that  achieved  such  results  in  an  indiffer- 
ent, sometimes  even  a  hostile,  commu- 
nity. And  this  began  with  the  very  year 
the  discovery  of  gold  brought  the  rush 
of  Americans  to  the  Territory,  not  yet 
a  State,  barely  out  of  Mexican  posses- 
sion, and  still  under  Mexican  law. 

In  the  very  first  of  this  rush,  several 
zealous  young  clergymen  started  for 
California,  filled  with  the  purpose  of 
seeing  that  the  things  of  the  spirit 
should  not  be  forgotten  in  the  craze  for 
gold, —  and  be  it  said  in  passing,  not  one 
of  them  was  enticed  away  from  that 
purpose  when  they  came  into  that  fast 
and  furious  early-day  life.  Three  of  them 
were  on  the  first  steamer  that  sailed  for 
California.  At  New  Orleans  they  over- 
took another,  a  young  Dartmouth  man, 
Mr.  Samuel  H.  Willey,  who  had  started 
before  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  gold, 
and  who  stopped  at  Monterey.  Here 
still  lived  Thomas  O.  Larkin,  the  most 
important  American  citizen  there  ;  a 
Massachusetts  man  by  birth  and  breed- 
ing, though  he  had  been  years  in  Califor- 
nia as  United  States  Consul.  As  soon  as 
they  were  fairly  acquainted,  the  two  men 
began  to  talk  of  founding  a  college.  Un- 


342 


The    University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


like  the  gold-seekers,  who  expected  to 
fill  their  pockets  and  go  home,  these  men 
regarded  their  homes  as  fixed  here,  be- 
lieved in  the  future  of  the  community, 
and  meant  that  its  foundation  should 
not  be  laid  entirely  in  materialism.  On 
the  voyage  out,  indeed,  the  passengers 
of  this  first  steamer  had  kept  the  anni- 
versary of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims, 
with  resolutions  pledging  themselves  to 
found  a  State  in  like  spirit. 

There  were  a  few  others  scattered 
about  the  Territory  —  now  early  1849- 
with  whom  Mr.  Willey  and  Mr.  Larkin 
communicated,  and  who  joined  in  the 
plan  at  once  ;  and  during  the  summer  of 
'49,  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming  occupa- 
tions of  that  time,  the  vast  roadless  dis- 
tances and  irregular  communication, 
they  managed  to  shape  everything  in 


readiness  to  charter  the  college  as  soon 
as  a  constitution  should  be  adopted,  and 
a  law  passed  for  granting  such  charter. 
They  secured  promise  of  land  for  an  en- 
dowment ;  they  corresponded  with  the 
Harvard  and  Yale  authorities  as  to 
method  of  organization  (Mr.  Larkin  was 
a  kinsman  of  Dr.  Rogers,  one  of  the 
Harvard  overseers ;  Mr.  Sherman  Day, 
another  of  the  group,  was  son  of  the 
president  of  Yale),  selected  a  board  of 
trustees,  and  drafted  a  law.  It  was  to  be 
a  Christian,  but  not  a  sectarian  college  ; 
all  were  agreed  on  that.  Not  only  was  the 
environment  heavily  against  sectarian- 
ism, fourteen  or  fifteen  tiny  churches 
in  150,000  square  miles  of  territory,  mak- 
ing such  way  as  they  could  against  the 
reckless  abundance  of  counter  institu- 
tions ;  but  the  sentiment  of  the  circle  was 


Photo  by  r.ibbs 


OAKS,    LOOKING   TOWARD   THE   CINDER    TRACK. 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


Photo  by  Taber 

ACTING    PRESIDENT   MARTIN    KELLOGG. 


against  it,  and  rudimentary  effort  look- 
ing toward  a  Presbyterian  college  came 
to  nothing.  The  sort  of  educated  young 
men  that  were  drawn  to  early  California 
were  less  likely  to  be  fettered  by  pre- 
judices and  partisanships  than  the  aver- 
age of  their  time.  Their  very  first  let- 
ter, written  after  Mr.  Willey's  earliest 
conferences  with  Mr.  Larkin,  led  Dr. 
Rogers  in  his  answer  to  warn  them  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  work  of  creating 
a  university  according  to  the  highest 
idea  then  held  in  America  of  such  an 
institution  ;  and  nothing  less  than  the 
best  seems  to  have  been  contemplated 
by  them  from  the  first. 

The  first  Legislature  met  in  Decem- 
ber. A  knot  of  the  friends  of  the  col- 
lege were  on  the  ground, —  Mr.  Willey 
riding  by  night  and  in  the  rain  across 
the  mountains  from  Monterey  to  "get 
there.  Their  first  attention  was  given 


to  the  interests  of  the  future  common 
schools,  but  they  secured  their  law  for 
chartering  colleges.  The  law  provided, 
as  a  proper  safeguard,  that  $20,000  of 
property  must  be  secured  before  a  char- 
ter should  be  given.  This  provision 
unexpectedly  defeated  the  plan  for  sev- 
eral years.  Mr.  Frederick  Billings  ap- 
plied for  a  charter  in  behalf  of  Ches- 
ter A.  Lyman,  Sherman  Day,  Forrest 
Shepard,  Frederick  Billings,  and  S. 
H.  Willey,  trustees  ;  but  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  which  the  power  of  granting 
charters  had  been  placed,  decided  that 
in  the  unsettled  condition  of  titles  the 
lands  promised  (mainly  by  Dr.  James 
Stokes  and  Kimball  H.  Dimmick),  along 
the  Guadaloupe  Creek,  near  San  Jose, 
did  not  fulfill  the  property  requirement. 
The  result  of  this  set-back  was  that  the 
promises  of  land  lapsed. 

The  friends  of  the  college  now  planned 


UHIVBRSIT7 


344 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


to  begin  over  again  by  getting  a  prepara- 
tory school  under  way.  They  were  ex- 
ceedingly busy  men,  in  a  time  when  all 
activities  were  carried  on  with  an  over- 
whelming rush  and  pressure :  no  one 
could  take  on  himself  the  charge  of 
establishing  the  school.  The  churches 
were  not  interested  in  the  matter  as 
churches ;  the  college  circle,  though 
mostly  clergymen  or  active  members  of 
the  pioneer  churches,  acted  as  individ- 
uals. In  1851  their  hope  of  united 
action  for  an  undenominational  college 
was  broken  into  by  the  Methodists,  who 
began  the  foundation  at  San  Jose  of  the 
"  California  Wesleyan  College,"  after- 
ward the  "  University  of  the  Pacific." 

The  idea  of  State  aid  evidently  hov- 
ered somewhat  about  the  minds  of  the 
college-builders  from  the  first,  but  it 
was  always  discouraged  by  their  East- 
ern advisers.  It  was  at  a  time  —  after 
the  colonial  colleges  had  detached  them- 


From  Painting  by  Keith 

JOSEPH    LKCONTE,    PROKKSSOR   OF   GEOLOUY    AND 
NATURAL    HISTORY. 


selves  from  public  control,  and  before 
the  day  of  State  university  success  - 
when  there  was  a  strong  reaction  against 
allowing  the  State  any  hand  in  the 
higher  education.  They  themselves,  in 
spite  of  the  unsectarian  spirit  of  their 
plan,  were  loath  to  think  of  excluding 
religious  instruction  altogether.  "  Men- 
tal and  Moral  Philosophy  and  the  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity,"  were  the  sub- 
jects of  Doctor  Willey's  central  regret 
when  the  College  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  State, —  a  wasted  regret  as  far  as 
the  philosophy  is  concerned,  for  that  is 
taught  freely  in  State  universities  now  ; 
but  many  adjustments  that  have  since 
been  learned  seemed  impossible  then. 

On  the  May-day  of  1853  a  rather  re- 
markable thing  happened.  A  scholarly 
looking  stranger, —  "in  appearance  the 
very  embodiment  of  the  ideal  college 
professor,"  -came  up  from  the  just- 
arrived  Panama  steamer  to  Mr.  Willey's 
house  in  San  Francisco,  bringing  the 
best  of  letters  from  New  England,  and 
said  that  he  had  come  to  work  for  a  col- 
lege, and  wished  to  begin  at  once.  This 
was  Henry  Durant :  "a  man  first  fine, 
and  then  re-fined,"  President  Oilman 
said  to  the  students  when  he  died ;  an 
example  to  them  of  the  result  of  mak- 
ing the  highest  choices,  mental,  moral, 
and  social,  for  generations. 

He  was  born  at  Acton,  Mass.,  June 
17,  1802;  educated  at  Phillips  Academy, 
Andover,  and  at  Yale,  where  he  gradu- 
ated in  1827,  in  the  same  class  with 
Horace  Bushnell.  He  was  four  years  a 
tutor  in  Yale,  then  studied  theology 
there,  was  ordained  and  settled  as  pastor 
at  Byfield,  Massachusetts ;  and  after 
quietly  ministering  there  for  fifteen 
years,  this  serene  clerical  scholar  al- 
ready more  than  fifty  years  old,  departed 
from  that  quiet  harbor,  and  set  out  to 
the  remote  California  of  1853,  "with 
college  on  the  brain,"  he  said.  It  was 
surely  one  of  the  most  curious  and  hon- 
orable incidents  in  the  history  of  college 
founding. 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


345 


A  month  later,  he  began  a  "  college 
school,"  of  three  boys,  in  a  building 
in  the  new  hamlet  of  Oakland,  which 
he  had  rented  for  $150  a  month,  gold 
coin,  payable  in  advance;  the  house 
to  be  kept  by  a  man  and  his  wife  whose 
wages  were  to  be  another  $150,  gold,  in 
advance.  Mr.  Durant  was  the  oldest 
Californian  of  them  all,  or  the  youngest 
man  of  them  all,  as  far  as  venturesome- 
ness  was  concerned.  Twenty  years 
later,  President  Gilman,  after  trying  in 
vain  to  get  him  to  write  down  some  of 
his  experiences,  persuaded  him  to  talk 
before  a  stenographer.  The  stories 
thus  preserved  have  been  told  several 
times  in  print,  but  there  are  new  readers 
each  time,  and  those  who  are  familiar 
with  them  will  pardon  me  for  not  leav- 
ing them  out.  The  school  had  not  gone 
on  three  months  before  there  were 
arrears. 

"My  housekeepers  --  Quinn  was  the 
man's  name  —  began  to  be  alarmed.  He 
said  that  whatever  did  not  succeed  in 
two  months  and  a  half  in  California 
never  would  succeed.  He  could  not 
trust  me  any  longer.  One  morning  I 
went  up-stairs  as  usual  to  my  school.  It 
got  to  be  time  for  luncheon,  and  I  went 
down-stairs,  and  found  nothing  prepared. 
Quinn  had  squatted  on  the  lower  part 
of  the  house,  and  put  out  his  shingle : 
'  Lodgers  and  boarders  ^wanted  here. 
Drinks  for  sale  at  the  bar.'  He  had 
got  up  a  bar-room  with  his  bottles  in  it. 
I  sent  out  to  a  restaurant,  and  got  a 
luncheon  for  the  boys.  Then  I  went 
down-town  to  a  lawyer's,  and  entered  a 
complaint  before  a  Police  Court  extem- 
porized for  the  occasion.  Quinn  was 
summoned  to  appear.  He  was  found 
guilty  of  getting  up  a  nuisance,  and  was 
ordered  to  desist  and  pay  a  fine  of  $5. 
Meanwhile  I  went  up  to  clear  out  his 
fixings. 

"  He  came  up,  and  wanted  to  know 
what  I  was  about.  I  told  him  what  I 
was  going  to  do.  He  told  me  to  desist. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  made  a  beginning, 


From  Painting  by  H.  Raschen 
PRESIDENT  JOHN*    LECONTK,    PROFESSOR   OF   PHYSICS. 


and  was  not  going  to  stop  until  I  had 
made  an  end  of  it.  He  got  into  a  rage, 
laid  his  hands  on  me  with  considerable 
force,  and  was  pushing  me  away,  when 
suddenly  he  became  pale  as  a  cloth, 
lifted  up  his  hands  over  his  head,  and 
began  to  pray.  He  begged  that  I  would 
pray  for  him  that  God  would  have  mercy 
on  his  soul." 

"  I  suppose  he  had  a  dim  vision  of  the 
future  glories  of  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia," President  Gilman  suggested, 
in  play. 

"  No,"  said  Dr.  Durant,  quite  serious- 
ly, "  I  think  it  was  not  that.  His  religion 
came  to  my  relief.  He  had  an  impres- 
sion that  he  had  laid  hands  on  a  con- 
secrated person,  and  thought  he  was 
committing  the  unpardonable  sin.  He 
regarded  me  as  a  priest,  and  had  been 
so  taught.  I  think  that  was  the  secret 
of  it.  He  told  me  I  need  not  trouble 


346 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


myself  to  move  the  things ;  he  would 
d6  it." 

While  going  on  with  the  school,  Mr. 
Durant  was  looking  for  a  permanent 
site,  and  selected  a  spot  on  a  new  road, 
now  Twelfth  Street,  about  to  be  opened 
to  what  was  then  San  Antonio. 

"Just  at  this  time,  'the  jumpers,'  as 
they  are  called --a  certain  order  of 
squatters  -  -  assembled  in  pretty  large 
numbers  at  the  end  of  Broadway  -  -  two 
or  three  hundred  of  them.  It  seems  a 
plan  had  been  arranged,  and  they  had 
been  gathering  in  small  numbers  until 
there  was  a  large  crowd  of  them.  They 
were  discussing,  haranguing,  and  work- 
ing themselves  up  to  the  point  of  taking 
possession  of  all  the  unoccupied  grounds 
in  Oakland.  Learning  what  they  were 
about, —  that  they  were  about  to  take 
possession  of  the  various  lands  of  the 
city,  and  divide  them  off  by  drawing 
lots,  giving  each  one  something, —  I 
went  down  into  that  crowd,  took  off  my 
hat,  got  their  attention  somehow,  and 
proclaimed  that  negotiations  were  pend- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  securing  four 
blocks  that  had  been  selected  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  college.  A  motion 
was  made  that  three  cheers  be  given  for 
the  coming  college.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  these  four 
blocks,  to  keep  them  safe  from  inter- 
ference from  any  quarter,  and  to  hold 
them  sacred  to  the  use  for  which  they 
had  been  voted." 

The  old  circle  of  friends  backed  Mr. 
Durant  cordially,  and  now  a  subscription 
was  raised  to  put  up  a  building  on  the 
site  thus  obtained.  The  funds  ready  in 
hand  gave  out  before  it  was  quite  com- 
plete. Contractors  had  been  known  in 
such  cases  to  borrow  the  money  to 
finish,  take  a  lien  on  the  house,  put  in  a 
man  with  a  pistol  to  keep  the  owner 
away,  and  ultimately  get  the  house.  Mr. 
Durant  suspected  that  something  of  the 
sort  was  breeding,  and  consulted  a 
lawyer,  who  advised  him  to  regard  him- 
self as  owner  and  take  possession. 


"  I  came  over  at  night,  took  a  man 
with  me,  went  into  the  house,  put  a 
table,  chairs,  etc.,  into  one  of  the  rooms 
up-stairs,  and  went  to  bed.  Pretty  early 
in  the  morning  the  contractor  came  into 
the  house  and  looked  about.  Presently 
he  came  to  our  door.  Looking  in,  says 
he:  'What  is  here?' 

"  I  was  getting  up.  I  told  him  I 
did  n't  mean  any  hurt  to  him,  but  I  was 
a  little  in  a  hurry  to  go  into  my  new 
home,  and  I  thought  I  would  make  a  be- 
ginning the  night  before.  I  asked  him 
if  he  would  not  walk  in  and  take  a  seat. 
I  claimed  to  be  the  proprietor,  and  in 
possession.  He  went  off.  My  friend 
went  away,  and  in  a  little  while  the  con- 
tractor came  back  with  two  burly  fel- 
lows. They  came  into  the  room,  and 
helped  themselves  to  seats.  I  had  no 
means  of  defense  except  an  axe  that 
was  under  the  bed.  The  contractor  said 
to  one  of  the  men  :  '  Well,  what  will 
you  do  ? '  Said  he  :  'If  you  ask  my  ad- 
vice, I  say,  proceed  summarily,'  and  he 
began  to  g-t  up.  I  rose,  too,  then  - 
about  two  feet  taller  than  usual ;  I  felt 
as  if  I  was  monarch  of  all  I  surveyed.  I 
told  him  that  if  I  understood  him,  he 
intended  to  move  into  the  room.  Said 
I :  'You  will  not  only  commit  a  trespass 
upon  my  property,  but  you  will  do  vio- 
lence upon  my  body.  I  don't  intend 
to  leave  this  room  in  a  sound  condition. 
If  you  undertake  to  do  that,  you  will 
commit  a  crime  as  well  as  a  trespass  ! ' 

"That  seemed  to  stagger  them,  and 
finally  they  left  me  in  possession." 

This  house  is  the  square  one  shown 
in  the  sketch,  p.  341,  which  is  from  an 
old  engraving.  The  school  prospered, 
and  after  a  while  money  enough  was 
raised  for  a  second  building.  In  1855 
the  College  of  California  was  incorpor- 
ated, and  then  a  search  was  begun  for 
a  fine,  ample,  well  watered  tract,  which 
by  beginning  thus  early  might  be  se- 
cured for  a  permanent  site  without 
extravagant  cost.  It  chanced  that  in 
1856  Dr.  Horace  Bushneil  was  sojourn- 


1892.] 


Tlie   University  of  California. 


347 


ing 


in  California  for  the  sake  of  his 
health,  and  became  an  enthusiastic 
ally  of  the  college.  He  took  on  himself 
the  investigation  of  sites,  and  by  stage, 
in  the  saddle,  on  foot,  explored  the  whole 
circumference  of  the  bay,  and  the  Napa 
and  Sonoma  valleys,  reporting  in  writ- 
ing on  all  suitable  sites.  The  letters 
written  during  the  many  weeks  of  these 
tours  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  his 
"Life  and  Letters."  The  final  result 
was  the  selection  of  the  present  site  of 
Berkeley.  The  name  was  not  given  till 
ten  years  later :  it  was  suggested  by 
Mr.  Frederick  Billings,  in  memory  of 
Berkeley's  well-known  stanzas,  begin- 
ning, 

The  Muse,  disgusted  at  an  nge  and  clime. 

They  are  curiously  appropriate,  and 
as  one  will  see  on  glancing  them  over 
seem  in  some  respects  written  rather 
for  California  than  for  the  Atlantic 
States. 

Before  leaving  the  State,  Mr.  Bush- 
nell  wrote  an  "Appeal"  to  the  public 
for  the  college,  from  which  I  quote  a 
passage  or  two  :  — 

They  [the  trustees]  propose  to  create  not  an 
academy  only,  nor  a  high  school,  but  a  college  ;  nor 
this  only,  in  its  most  limited  and  historic  sense,  but 
a  college  that  will  be  the  germ  of  a  proper  univer- 
sity, and  will  not  fulfill  its  idea  till  it  becomes  on 
the  western  shore  what  Harvard  and  Vale  are  on 
the  other  ;  and  finally,  such  as  evf  n  they  are  not, 
except  in  a  rudimental  and  initial  'way. 

They  are  not  unadvised,  the  appeal 
goes  on  to  say,  of  the  immense  expend- 
iture necessary  ;  and  it  is  curious  in 
view  of  the  figures  quoted  in  the  begin- 
ning of  this  article  to  see  his  illustra- 
tion of  the  cost  of  a  great  college  : — Har- 
vard, he  says,  has  about  a  million  and  a 
half  of  property,  $600,000  in  active  cap- 
ital, and  still  complains  of  sore  restric- 
tions for  want  of  means  ;  the  College  of 
California  should  have  $500,000  to  begin 
with.  He  warns  against  a  State  univer- 
sity, and  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  con- 
ditions of  such, —  the  students  rushing 
into  the  cabals  of  party  to  oust  some 


obnoxious  president  or  professor,  learn- 
ing and  science  draggling  in  the  mires 
of  uneasiness  and  public  intrigue. 

The  sooner,  therefore,  you  are  disabused  as  a  peo- 
ple, of  any  expectation  of  a  university  to  be  created 
by  the  State,  the  better  it  will  be  for  you.  It  can 
have  no  other  effect  than  simply  to  postpone  those 
private  responsibilities  which  have  been  too  long 
delayed  already.  You  can  never  have  a  university 
worthy  of  your  place  as  the  central  and  first  Slate 
of  the  Pacific,  unless  you  call  it  into  being  by  your 
own  private  munificence. 


From  Painting  by  Benoni  Irwiu 

PRKSIDENT   DANIBL   C.    G1LMAX. 

None  the  less  for  some  prophecies 
now  falsified,  the  appeal  is  a  noble  doc- 
ument,—  one  of  the  finest  papers  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  Univer- 
sity. The  students  of  the  University 
should  be  kept  familiar  with  it,  if  merely 
as  literature. 

In  1860,  a  Freshman  class  of  eight 
was  ready,  and  Mr.  Durant  turned  over 
the  preparatory  school  to  Rev.  Isaac 


348 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


Photo  by  Taber 

EUGENE   W.    HILGARD,    PROFESSOR  Op-    AGRICULTURE    AND 
AGRICULTURAL   CHEMISTRY. 

Brayton,  and  began  college  work.  Mr. 
Martin  Kellogg  (Yale,  '50)  was  called 
from  his  church  in  Grass  Valley,  and 
Mr.  Brayton  also  gave  some  time  to  the 
college  classes. 

From  this  time  the  college  went  on  as 
a  separate  institution  for  nine  years, 
increasing  its  staff  and  the  number  of  its 
students,  having  a  good  repute  educa- 
tionally, and  holding  its  main  require- 
ments well  up  to  the  best  standards  of 
the  country  at  that  date.  So  many  of  its 
nearest  friends  were  Yale  men, —  Profes- 
sor Durant,  Professor  Kellogg,  Sherman 
Day,  Doctor  Benton,  Doctor  Bushnell, 
and  a  number  of  others, —  that  it  took  a 
decided  Yale  coloring,  of  which  glimpses 
are  even  now  discernible  through  the 
various  superimposed  layers.  If  any 
shadow  ever  disturbed  the  perfect  con- 
fidence and  unanimity  —  even  affection- 
ate regard  —  among  the  builders  of  the 
College,  the  memory  of  it  has  not  been 


kept.  I  should  think  such  a  group  of 
men,  so  cordially  united  and  to  such 
ends,  must  b2  rare  in  the  early  history 
of  communities. 

The  College  never  had  a  president. 
After  two  or  three  years,  Mr.  Willey  was 
urged  to  become  "  vice-president  "  -  act- 
ing president,  we  should  say  now  — till 
the  place  could  be  filled.  Doctor  Bush- 
nell, Doctor  Shedd,  and  Doctor  Hitch- 
cock, were  successively  asked  to  take  it, 
but  would  not  leave  the  Eastern  environ- 
ment for  that  of  California.  Professor 
Durant  seems  to  have  regarded  himself 
and  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  teacher, 
not  an  administrative  manager. 

There  was  no  endowment,  and  the  Col- 
lege was  never  free  from  financial  strug- 
gle. By  the  time  it  was  incorporated, 
the  "flush  times  "  had  passed  :  "  I  know 
very  well,"  says  Bushnell  in  his  appeal, 
"the  heavy  pressure  nowfelt  of  debt  and 
discouragement,  the  devouring  rates  of 
interest,  the  depressions  of  prices,  the 
uncertainties  of  titles,  the  cessations  of 
profits,  and  the  general  collapse  of  all 
that  can  be  called  prosperity.  There 
could  not,  therefore,  be  a  worse  time, 
many  will  say,  for  the  endowment  of  any 
such  institution."  Appeals  made  in  the 
East  for  endowment  by  Professor  Kel- 
logg and  Mr.  Willey,  backed  by  Pres- 
ident Woolsey,  President  Hopkins,  Doc- 
tor Leonard  Bacon,  Professor  Park, 
Doctor  Storrs,  and  others,  failed  to  bring 
forth  the  help  usually  given  in  the  East 
to  Western  educational  beginnings.  It 
seems  strange  to  them  to  this  day,  and 
they  attribute  it  — as  did  the  people  to 
whom  they  talked  —  to  the  feeling  in  the 
East  that  it  was  absurd  to  send  money 
to  California,  the  place  that  gold  came 
from.  Perhaps  the  non-sectarian  char- 
acter of  the  College  had  much  to  do  with 
it :  a  non-sectarian  institution  gets  praise 
and  public  sympathy  for  its  liberality, 
while  the  money  goes  to  the  sectarian 
ones;  the  church  people  feel  that  their 
"first  efforts  are  due  to  their  own,"  and 
the  non-church-going  people,  in  New 


Photo  by  Waters 


HUGGINS    BRIDGE   OVER    STRAWBERRY   CREEK 


350  Tlie    University  of  California.  [Oct. 

England  at  least,  do  not  give  as  largely  been  reported  back  from  various  com- 
in  any  case.  With  slight  exceptions,  all  mittees,  it  was  finally  turned  over  to  a 
the  funds  for  the  College  of  California  commission,  at  the  head  of  which  was 
had  to  be  raised  here,  in  a  period  that  Professor  J.  D.  Whitney,  then  on  the 
covered  the  time  of  the  great  depression  Geological  Survey  in  this  State.  This 
spoken  of  by  Doctor  Bushnell,  the  war  was  in  1863.  This  commission  drafted 
time,  and  the  first  years  of  recovery  from  a  plan  which  resulted  in  the  Act  of  1866, 
the  war.  A  great  deal  was  raised.  Two  establishing  a  College  of  Agriculture 
good  buildings  were  put  up  in  Oakland,  and  Mechanic  Arts,  to  which  Mining  was 
the  site  at  Berkeley,  with  a  good  deal  of  added,  and  constituting  a  board  of  di- 
adjoining  land  for  residence  lots,  was  rectors,  presided  over  by  the  Governor, 
purchased,  a  plan  for  laying  out  the  This  board  had  power  to  locate  and  or- 
grounds  by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  ganize  the  school,  provided  only  that  it 
obtained,  extensive  water  rights  secured,  should  not  be  connected  with  any  other 
and  the  College  carried  on  for  nine  years,  institution  of  learning,  nor  be  in  any 
All  this  was  done  by  continuous  sub-  manner  connected  with  or  controlled  by 
scriptions  from  business  men — as  usual,  any  religious  sect. 

not  the  wealthiest  ones,  but  generally  Why  the  provision  against  connect- 
the  well-to-do.  Many  weeks  the  acting  ing  it  with  any  other  institution  was 
president  walked  up  and  down  the  put  in,  I  do  not  know,  nor  whether  it  was 
streets,  climbing  to  men's  offices  and  due  to  Professor  Whitney  :  it  could  not 
obtaining  these  subscriptions.  Nor  was  have  been  intentionally  directed  against 
the  effort  to  get  large  endowments  ever  the  College  of  California,  nor  intended 
relaxed;  among  others,  several  men  were  to  check  the  expansion  of  the  agricul- 
appealed  to  who  have  since  become  tural  school  plan  into  a  university,  for 
founders  of  other  institutions  ;  but  none  Professor  Whitney,  in  an  address  to  the 
of  them  at  that  time  was  at  all  moved.  College,  had  spoken  with  a  good  deal  of 
In  1867  the  trustees  faced  the  situation  approval  of  State  universities, 
that  their  property,  though  not  incon-  The  success  of  Michigan  University, 
siderable,  consisted  entirely  of  real  es-  which  was  founded  before  the  reaction 
tate,  which  at  present  yielded  no  income,  against  State  aid  set  in,  had  greatly 
and  that  their  current  expenses  had  with  tempered  that  dread  everywhere.  In 
the  growth  of  the  College  risen  beyond  the  West  it  was  now  felt  to  be  a  less 
what  could  be  met  by  subscriptions  any  danger  than  the  multiplication  of  pri- 
longer.  Indeed,  they  were  already  in  vate  and  sectarian  foundations  it  had 
arrears.  led  to.  The  trustees  of  the  College  of 

California  had  not  failed  to  note  all  this  ; 

III.  and  other  guests  of  distinction  besides 

Professor  Whitney  had  called  their  at- 

IN  1862  Congress  passed  the  Act  giv-  tention  to  it,  notably  Professor  Silliman. 
ing  those  States  still  containing  public  In  any  event,  if  a  State  university  were 
lands  a  grant  of  such  lands  for  purposes  really  to  be  started,  the  one  great  uni- 
of  instruction  in  Agriculture  and  Me-  versity  on  this  Coast,  which  had  always 
chanic  Arts.  California  had  also  a  small  been  their  goal,  would  become  impossi- 
Seminary  Fund,  which,  set  apart  for  no  ble  except  by  consolidation.  The  terms 
very  specific  use,  had  been  allowed  to  of  the  Act  of  1866,  however,  and  the  ev- 
accumulate.  The  State  soon  began  to  try  ident  intention  of  making  a  merely 
to  avail  itself  of  the  national  grant,  but  technical  school,  seemed  to  put  out  of 
the  Legislature  could  come  to  no  agree-  the  question  any  thought  they  had  had 
ment  about  it,  and  after  the  matter  had  of  such  an  event. 


1892.] 


TJie   University  of  California. 


351 


Governor  Low,  however,  the  head  of 
the  board  that  had  charge  of  organizing 
the  school,  was  as  it  chanced  one  of  the 
firmest  friends  of  the  College,  and  a 
regular  subscriber  to  its  funds.  He 
was  also  much  disposed  to  a  State  uni- 
versity, instead  of  a  State  technical 
school.  It  was  legally  possible  so  to 
construe  the  act  under  which  the  "Col- 
lege of  Agriculture,  Mining,  and  Me- 
chanic Arts  "  was  organized,  as  to  make 
it  a  sort  of  university,  by  the  addition 
of  minor  courses  of  liberal  arts,  even 
without  other  sources  of  income  than 
those  provided  for  by  the  Act.  There 
was  no  obstacle  whatever  to  making 
these  industrial  courses  even  a  minor 
part  of  a  great  university,  if  the  addi- 
tiftnal  income  demanded  were  provided 
for  elsewhere.  There  would  be  room 
for  some  delicate  questions  of  division 
of  funds,  but  nothing  that  could  not  be 
settled  by  honest  effort.  When  the 
directors  of  the  proposed  school  had 
fixed  upon  a  site  two  miles  north  of 
Berkeley,  the  nearness  seemed  to  bring 
to  a  focus  the  floating  talk  there  had 
been  of  consolidation,  and  Governor 
Low  apparently  was  the  one  that  made 
the  definite  suggestion,  while  talking 
over  the  financial  difficulties.  The  form 
of  the  law  seemed  to  forbid  it,  but  there 
was  one  way  in  which  it  could  be  done  : 
the  College  could  give  its  property  to  the 
State,  on  a  clear  understanding  that 
this  should  be  made  the  fulcrum  for  turn- 
ing the  technical  school  into  a  univer- 
sity. Desire  of  seeing  all  forces  united 
on  the  one  hand,  financial  pressure  on 
the  other,  settled  the  matter.  It  was 
necessary  to  shape  things  quickly,  for 
the  Legislature  was  soon  to  meet.  The 
trustees  of  the  College  and  the  directors 
charged  with  organizing  the  technical 
school  came  to  a  cordial  understanding  : 
and  on  October  9th,  1867,  the  trustees 
adopted  resolutions  offering  their  prop- 
erty to  the  State.  The  first  resolution 
offered  the  site  at  Berkeley  without 
condition  ;  the  second  declared  that  "in 


Photo  by  Taber 

BERNARD    MOSES,    PROFESSOR   OF    HISTORY    AND    POLITICAL 
ECONOMY. 

making  this  donation,  the  College  of 
California  is  influenced  by  the  earnest 
hope  and  confident  expectation  "  that 
the  State  would  forthwith  establish  on 
this  site  a  university,  which  should  in- 
clude several  technical  colleges,  and 
also  an  "  Academic  College";  the  third, 
that  the  trustees  would  enter  into  con- 
tract that  upon  the  establishment  of 
such  university  they  would  disincorpor- 
ate, and  turn  over  all  their  remaining 
property  to  the  university. 

These  resolutions  were  form  ulated  by 
John  W.  Dwinelle,  and  the  trustees  of 
the  College  were  a  little  disappointed  at 
the  precedence  given  the  technical 
"  colleges  "  over  that  of  liberal  arts  ;  but 
on  the  representation  that  it  was  neces- 
sary thus  to  present  it  to  the  Legislature, 
they  yielded  the  point.  It  may  seem 
that  the  unconditioned  gift  of  the  site  in 
the  first  resolution  left  them  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Legislature  in  case  it  chose 


352 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


to  accept  the  site  and  decline  to  fulfill 
the  "expectation"  of  the  second;  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact  the  offer  was  con- 
veyed to  the  Legislature  incorporated  in 
a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  univer- 
sity which  should  include  the  school  of 
technology  already  provided  for.  The 
bill  was  endorsed  by  the  directors  of 
this  school,  included  provisions  for  the 
appointment  of  regents,  and  had  been 
agreed  upon  in  consultation  with  the 
trustees  of  the  College  of  California. 

The  bill  did  not  pass  without  opposi- 
tion,—  one  scheme  was  presented  for 
breaking  up  the  property  into  a  series 
of  schools,  scattered  about  the  State. 
Mr.  Willey  went  up  to  Sacramento,  and 
did  what  he  could  for  its  passage  ;  and 
Mr.  Dwindle  and  Mr.  Felton  carried  it 
through.  It  passed  March  21,  and  on 
the  27th,  an  appropriation  was  made  for 
the  support  of  the  proposed  university. 
The  date  of  the  Governor's  signing  the 
bill,  March  23,  has  since  been  celebrated 
yearly  at  the  University  as  "  Charter 
Day." 


This  great  step  safely  accomplished, 
the  next  was  the  appointment  of  regents. 
Six  of  these  were  —  and  still  are  —  c.v 
officio ;  sixteen  are  now  named  by  the 
Governor,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate, 
but  at  first  only  eight  were  chosen  in 
this  manner,  the  other  eight  being  se- 
lected by  the  board  itself. 

Mr.  Low  was  no  longer  Governor. 
Governor  Haight  had  been  elected  while 
the  arrangements  with  the  College  of 
California  were  going  on.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale,  a  man  interested  in 
education,  and  of  liberal  ideas  ;  he  had 
in  his  inaugural  address  urged  the  Uni- 
versity bill,  as  did  Governor  Low  in  his 
retiring  address.  He  had  cordial  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  members  of  the 
College  of  California  board  ;  but  he  had 
not  followed  the  course  of  the  College  as 
closely  as  Governor  Low. 

When  Governor  Haight's  appoint- 
ments came  out,  there  was  some  surprise 
at  them.  The  regents  named,  and  those 
in  turn  named  by  them,  were  good  citi- 
zens and  earnest  friends  of  education, 


Photo  by  \Vateis 


THE  UNIVERSITY  AND  THE  GOLDEN  GATE. 


1892. 


The   University  of  California. 


353 


but  they  were  not  the  men  that  people 
expected.  For  one  thing,  there  was 
but  slight  representation  of  the  College 
of  California  on  the  board.  I  have  taken 
some  pains  to  talk  with  friends  of  Gov- 
ernor Haight  about  these  appointments, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  from  his  point  of 
view  at  that  time  the  College  did  not  play 
any  very  large  part  in  the  University 
question.  It  had  been  possible  for  him- 
self and  other  friends  of  the  Univer- 
sity to  make  use  of  its  gift  in  bringing 
about  this  great  foundation,  but  the 
gift  itself  he  and  the  others  about  him 
did  not  regard  as  of  much  value.  The 
College  was  crippled  with  debts,  and 
though  it  had  property  enough  to  cover 
them  it  was  all  in  real  estate,  that  might 
not  be  available  for  many  years,  while 
the  debts  would  have  to  be  paid  at  once 
by  the  State.  The  College  came  before 
him  with  the  aspect  of  financial  failure. 
Its  aims  were  lofty,  its  men  to  be  re- 
vered; but  it  had  not  "got  there."  It 
was  first  of  all  necessary  so  to  organize 
the  University  that  there  should  be  no 
failure  in  practical  efficiency.  There 
was  an  important  endowment  to  come 
into  the  management  of  this  board,  and 
in  such  a  shape  that  it  might  be  frit- 
tered to  nothing,  or  nursed  to  something 
very  large.  He  meant,  first  of  all,  that 
the  endowment  should  be  safe  ;  he  did 
not  wish  a  board  of  clergymen  and 
scholars,  but  of  financiers.  Then,  too, 
he  felt  under  certain  restrictions  of  se- 
lection :  the  majority  of  the  board  must 
oe  of  the  dominant  party  ;  probably  the 
Legislature  would  not  have  consented 
to  anything  else.  .  In  this  case  the 
dominant  party  was  Democratic,  and  as 
the  College  of  California  men  were  al- 
most exclusively  Republicans,  five  out 
of  the  eight  nominations  necessarily 
went  away  from  them.  Governor  Haight 
was  a  Northern  Democrat  himself,  but 
the  Southern  Democrats  were  a  strong 
body  in  the  State,  and  had  to  be  con- 
sidered. Between  this  wing  of  the 
Democracy  -  -  pro-slavery  men  in  the 
earliest  California  struggles,  secessionist 
VOL. 


at  the  time  the  State  was  with  difficulty 
held  in  the  Union  —  and  the  New  Eng- 
land men  in  the  State,  there  was  little 
sympathy  ;  without  actual  antagonisms, 
they  still  fell  into  different  social  groups, 
and  did  not  come  naturally  into  co-oper- 
ation. In  spite  of  the  most  faithful 
effort  to  be  non-political  and  non-secta- 
rian, the  College  of  California  had  by 
sheer  force  of  gravitation  become  mainly 
Congregational,  and  almost  exclusively 
of  New  England.  This  Governor  Haight 
intended  to  break  up;  he  meant  to  make 
the  University  as  broad-based  as  the 
population  of  the  State.  He  planned 
to  represent  North  and  South,  Catholic, 
and  Protestant,  and  Jew,  on  the  board. 
It  was  all  good  and  wise ;  but  after  talk- 
ing with  those  who  can  give  me  light 
upon  it,  and  reading  over  the  first  vol- 
ume of  the  records  of  the  board,  I  am 
forced  to  conclude  that  among  these 
adjustments  he  failed  to  make  enough 
of  the  need  of  university  knowledge  in 
such  a  body.  The  men  in  California 
who  had  studied  college  plans  closely, 
and  had  advised  constantly  for  years 
with  college  managers  in  the  older 
States  were  not  on  the  board.  The 
difficulty  was  in  some  respects  impossi- 
ble of  solution  :  in  1868  New  England 
was  the  only  section  of  the  country  that 
had  universities,  and  a  board  fairly  dis- 
tributed sectionally  could  not  be  the 
most  skilled  in  college  management. 

This  first  board  contained  many  ad- 
mirable men,  several  of  them  ideal 
regents.  But  as  a  body  they  —  or  so 
their  record  impresses  me  —  took  hold 
of  the  work  of  laying  the  foundations 
of  the  institution  with  an  inadequate 
sense  of  its  difficulty,  except  on  the 
financial  side.  The  pages  are  filled 
with  notes  of  their  careful  considera- 
tion and  re-consideration  of  sales  of 
lands ;  but  their  first  important  step 
educationally  was  —  in  open  meeting, 
without  even  nominations  at  a  previous 
meeting,  much  less  a  committee  to  cor- 
respond and  consider  —  to  elect  a  presi- 
dent. They  elected  General  McClellan, 


354  The   University  of  California.  [Oct. 

and  ex-Governor  Low  resigned  in  con-  the  Commonwealth"  manifested  in  the 
sequence,  --the  first  ripple  of  political  resolutions  of  gift;  their  recognition  in 
trouble,  which  afterward  was  abundant  those  resolutions  of  "the  incipient  germ 
enough,  from  outside  the  board  at  least,  of  the  State  University  "  ;  and  their  in- 
General  McClellan  declined,  and  though  tent  to  "  preserve,  cherish,  and  carry 
there  were  a  good  many  nominations,  forward  to  posterity  those  trusts  in  the 
no  president  was  actually  elected  till  same  enlightened  spirit  in  which  they  are 
after  the  organization  was  complete.  confided  to  us." 

Meantime,  November  10,  Professor  The  presence  on  the  board  of  Dr. 
Kellogg  was  nominated  to  the  chair  of  Horatio  Stebbins,  president  of  the  Col- 
Ancient  Languages,  and  elected  Decem-  lege  trustees,  was  the  thing  that  espe- 
ber  i.  At  the  intervening  meeting,  daily  helped  in  all  adjustments.  Dr. 
Professor  John  Le  Conte,  whose  name  Stebbins  is  still  on  the  board,  an  active 
had  first  been  brought  before  the  board  and  valued  member.  In  November  the 
by  a  letter  from  Professor  Pierce,  of  consolidation  was  completed,  the  total 
Harvard,  was  nominated  and  elected,  liabilities  accepted  by  the  regents  being 
thus  becoming  the  senior  professor.  On  reported  to  the  Legislature  at  $49,030.04, 
December  i,  also,  Professor  Joseph  Le  against  a  value  of  $80,000,  exclusive  of 
Conte  and  Professor  R.  A.  Fisher  were  the  two  sites  in  Berkeley  and  Oakland, 
nominated  and  elected.  which  four  years  later  were  reported  as 

During  this  year  of  1868-69  the  Col-  worth  $350,000. 

lege  of  California  was  asked  to  continue        I  have  more  than  once   asked   why, 
instruction,   while — the  gift  of  the  site  with  a  property  of  so  much  real  value 
having  been  accepted  —  the  offer  of  the  in  spite  of  embarrassments,  the  College 
remaining  property  was  held  under  con-  of    California    could    not    have    taken 
sideration.     It  was  accepted  on  April  5,  stronger  ground.     Any  one  who  has  had 
1869,  and  the  University  advanced  the  todo  with  businessmen, however,  knows 
money  for   payment  of  arrears   during  the  light  in    which   they  look   upon  a 
the  year  ;  while   the  professors  so  far  property  whose  values  are  not  yet  avail- 
chosen  for  the  University  gave  instruc-  able,  and  which  is  in  distress  for  imme- 
tion  in  the  College.     It  was  agreed  that  diate  funds.     And  there  was  a  still  more 
the  University  should  take  over  unbrok-  potent  difficulty  in  this  case  :  the  offer 
en  the  courses  of  the  College,  which,  in  of  the  property  had  first  of  all  to  pass  a 
fact,  would    practically   constitute  the  Legislature  which  had  no  great  desire  to 
"  College  of  Letters."  In  some  of  these  see  a  University  founded,  and  was  ready 
negotiations,  the  regents  seem  to  have  to   be  deflected   by  a  feather's  weight 
been   unnecessarily  curt  with  the  Col-  from  considering  it  at  all.     Some  light 
lege  ;  but  one  learns  it  only  from  the  is  thrown  on  this  point  by  the  fact,  of 
regents'  own  record  ;  the  College  trus-  which  I  am  credibly  told,  that  certain  of 
tees  carried  their  part  of  the  negotiation  the  worldlier  friends   of  the  proposed 
through,  so  far  as  appears,  with  an  un-  university  were  obliged  to  use  some  sharp 
failing  urbanity  and  readiness  for  con-  politics   to   prevent    the  defeat  of  the 
cession  that  doubtless  had  joint  origin  whole  plan  in  the  interest  of  other  sites, 
in  their  financial  disadvantage  and  their  which  men   with   land   adjoining  were 
anxiety  to  fix  the  course  of  liberal  arts  anxious  to  present, 
firmly  in  the  University,  at  the  cost  of        It   may   be   said,  therefore,  that  the 
whatever  other  sacrifice.     In  their  form-  price  received   by  the  College  for  the 
al  acceptance  of  the  College,  however,  Berkeley  site  was  the  establishment  of  a 
the  regents  express  "their  profound  ap-  university  instead  of  a  technical  school ; 
preciation  of  the  far-seeing  public  spirit,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  property, 
devotion  to  learning,  and  to  the  good  of  the  privilege  of  organizing  the  course  of 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


355 


the  "  College  of  Letters  "  in  accordance 
with  their  own  standards,  Professor  Kel- 
logg passing  over  into  the  University  to 
do  this.  The  importance  of  this  privilege 
may  be  measured  by  the  fact  that  for 
some  years  the  matriculation  require- 
ment for  the  classical  course  was  high- 
er by  a  full  year  than  that  for  the  other 
courses ;  and  this  was  doubtless  the 
most  potent  means  of  drawing  up  the 
others  to  the  same  standard.  The  thing 
that  the  College  men  desired  in  addition 
to  receive,  and  were  disappointed  in  not 
receiving,  was  a  guarantee  of  the  secur- 
ity and  prominence  of  the  course  of 
Letters. 

In  1869  the  University  opened  its  ses- 
sions, Professor  John  Le  Conte  acting 
as  president.  Professor  Le  Conte  had 
also  been  charged  with  the  organization 
of  the  courses,  the  planning  of  the  build- 
ings, which  were  now  under  way,  and  in 
general  the  mapping  out  of  the  Univer- 
sity. The  regents  were  fortunate  in  his 
broad-minded  and  scholarly  counsel. 
The  faculty  was  filled  out  with  several 
more  appointments,  and  the  sessions 
opened  with  unshadowed  promise. 


IV. 


IN  January,  1870,  Mr.  Tompkins  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  from  the  Legislature 
an  additional  endowment  of  tidelands. 
The  dependence  on  the  Legislature  was 
bound  to  be  close,  for  appropriations 
were  needed  from  time  to  time,  and  the 
very  organization  and  existence  of  the 
University  rested  on  a  law,  which  could 
be  repealed  at  any  time.  Mr.  Tompkins 
became  the  guardian  of  its  interests, 
perhaps  its  most  effective  friend,  during 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life.  He  was 
a  Union  College  man,  born  in  Oneida 
County,  New  York, —  "a  student  of  lit- 
erary and  philosophical  subjects,  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  higher  education, 
and  the  generous  friend  of  all  good  un- 
dertakings in  the  community  where  he 
dwelt."  I  quote  the  resolutions  offered 


by  Dr.  Stebbins  in  the  board  of  regents 
when  Mr.  Tompkins  died,  nearly  three 
years  after  this.  It  was  a  most  fortunate 
thing  for  the  University  that  it  had  his 
services  for  these  few  years,  but  most 
unfortunate  that  it  lost  him  when  it  did, 
before  the  time  of  its  great  struggle  with 
the  Legislature. 

In  this  three  years  Doctor  Durant  had 
been  made  president  of  the  University 
(Aug.  1 6,  1870) ;  had  retired  after  two 
years  of  service,  being  then  just  seventy 
years  old  ;  and  after  a  few  years,  during 
which  he  dwelt,  a  venerable  and  honored 
figure,  in  Oakland,  giving  to  its  young 
people  a  little  of  that  training  in  rever- 
ence that  is  common  in  the  older  col- 
lege towns,  he  died  suddenly,  January 
22,  1875,  while  presiding  at  a  dinner  of 
£ke- Berkeley  Club,  and  speaking  on  the 
subject,  "The  Good  Time  Coming." 
He  was  Mayor  of  Oakland  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  His  theology,  never  very 
rigid,  relaxed  notably  in  his  last  days, 
and  he  followed  his  pastor,  the  late  Rev. 
L.  Hamilton,  out  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  as  a  protest  against  the  doc- 
trine of  eternal  punishment. 

Upon  his  retirement,  Professor  D.  C. 
Oilman,  of  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School 
of  Yale,  was  elected  president.  He  had 
been  asked  once  before  to  take  the  chair, 
and  had  refused.  He  now  accepted,  and 
was- on  the  ground  by  the  beginning  of 
September,  1872.  He  was  received  with 
the  utmost  cordiality  ;  the  regents  seem 
to  have  been  eager  to  co-operate  with 
him,  and  uphold  him  in  every  way.  He 
found  the  University  going  on  smoothly 
enough.  A  preparatory  department  had 
been  organized,  with  the  strict  under- 
standing that  it  was  to  be  a  merely  tem- 
porary arrangement,  until  the  high 
schools  should  be  encouraged  to  assume 
the  preparatory  work  ;  and  in  fact  it  was 
dropped  after  two  or  three  years,  thus 
closing  the  last  phase  of  the  old  Col- 
lege School,  which  had  been  consolidat- 
ed with  it.  On  motion  of  Regent  But- 
terworth,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  women 
had  been  admitted  to  the  University  "on 


356 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


equal  terms  in  all  respects":  this  was 
October  3,  1870,  so  that  it  was  not  pos- 
sible for  any  women  to  become  regular 
students  in  any  class  before  that  of  '74 ; 
one  woman  graduated  with  that  class. 
An  incident  of  the  same  period  that  may 
be  worth  mentioning  is  Bret  Harte's 
election  (Aug.  16,  1870)  as  "Professor 
of  Recent  Literature  and  Curator  of  the 
Library  and  Museum,"  at  the  highest 
salary  given  by  the  University, —  an  ap- 
pointment that  he,  however,  declined. 

The  University  was  still  holding  ses- 
sions in  the  old  College  buildings  in 
Oakland,  while  those  at  Berkeley  slowly 
progressed. 

President  Oilman's  administration  was 
singularly  successful ;  a  new  orderliness, 
vigor,  and  aspiration  filled  every  depart- 
ment.   One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  have 
the  president  invited  to  attend  the  meet- 
ings of  the  board,  with  a  right  to  discuss  ; 
and  later  he  was  made  an  ex  officio  mem- 
ber.    The  records  of  the  regents  begin 
to  be  thronged  with  acknowledgments 
of  gifts,  large  and  small, —  the  largest 
that  of  the  Francis  Lieber  library,  from 
Michael  Reese.1  The  curt,  business-like 
style    of     their    own    communications 
changes  to  one  of  attentive  courtesy, 
under  which   some    old    difficulties  — 
chiefly  concerning   proposed   affiliated 
schools  — melted  away. 

But  troubles  were  brewing  from  out- 
side. The  cost  of  the  main  brick  build- 
ing —  then  called  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture —  had  surprised  every  one,  and 
work  on  it  had  been  more  than  once 
suspended  for  long  periods.  In  conse- 
quence, the  North  Hall,  then  called  the 
College  of  Letters,  had  been  hastily 
and  cheaply  put  up.  The  Legislature  of 
1872-73  became  suspicious  as  to  both 
buildings.  Moreover,  this  was  in  the 
height  of  the  Granger  political  move- 
tnent ;  there  was  a  sentiment  of  injury 
among  the  farmers  easily  precipitated  on 
any  class  or  institution.  They  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  working  of  the  College 

1  When  Mr.  Reese  died,  his  will  added  a  bequest  of 
$50,000  to  this  gift,  for  library  purpose*. 


of  Agriculture,  as  one  branch  of  a  mani- 
fold institution  ;  they  felt  that  the  ori- 
ginal grant  had  been  given  for  a  "School 
of  Agriculture   and    Mechanic    Arts," 
and  that  the  University  should  in  fact 
be  this,  and  this  only.  The  State  Grange 
memorialized  the  Legislature    on    the 
subject.     The  result  was  an  unfriendly 
legislative  investigation,  on  the  two  sub- 
jects of  the  buildings  and  of  the  instruc- 
tion in  agriculture  and  mechanic  arts. 
One  of  the  regents,  Dr.  Merritt,  who 
had  been  responsible  for  the  erection 
of  the  wooden  building  complained  of 
as  defective,  was   charged  with  direct 
fraud.     He   was   exonerated   from  any 
such  charge,  and,  with   the  rest  of  the 
building  committee,  from  that  of  neg- 
ligence ;  and  the  regents  and  President 
Gilrnan  stood  by  him  and  by  each  other 
in   the   whole   investigation.      But    he 
shortly   resigned   from  the  board,  and 
never  had  anything  further  to  do  with 
the  University  ;  when  he  died,  what  he 
had  to  give  to  education  went  to  Bowdoin 
College. 

The  other  branch  of  the  investigation 
did  not  end  so  promptly.     Each  speci- 
fication  contained   in  the   inquiry   had 
been  given  to  the  proper  person,  to  an- 
swer by  a  full  exhibit  of  the  facts.     The 
professor  of  agriculture,  Professor  Ezra 
Carr,  answered  the  inquiry  as  to  the  con- 
dition  of  the    agricultural    instruction 
in  a  way  that  practically  endorsed  the 
dissatisfaction    of    the    State    Grange. 
Professor  Carr  and  his  wife,  the  well- 
known  writer  and  horticulturist,  Jeanne 
C.  Carr,  had  just  joined  the  local  grange, 
and  Mrs.  Carr  in  especial  was  much  in 
sympathy  with  the  Granger  movement. 
The  real  contention  was  that  between 
the  technical  school  idea  and  the  uni- 
versity idea,  which  had  been  supposed 
to  be  settled  in  favor  of  the  university, 
and  which  was  now  entirely  re-opened. 
But .  there  were  already  several  of  the 
faculty   in   antagonism   with  President 
Gilman,  on  personal  and  administrative 
grounds  rather  than  matters  of  opinion, 
and    Professor    Carr,    with     Professor 


1892.] 


Tlie   University  of  California. 


357 


Swinton,  was  among  these.  The  regents 
supported  President  Oilman,  and  it  was 
at  this  very  time  practically  certain  that 
Professor  Swinton  would  resign,  as  he 
did  the  next  month.  The  Legislature 
was  still  in  session,  and  he  joined  in  the 
attack  on  the  University,  and  published 
a  pamphlet  on  the  subject. 

The  strained  relations  between  Pro- 
fessor Carr  and  the  University  culmin- 
ated  in   July,   when   he   was   asked  to 
resign,    and     refusing,    was     removed. 
These  circumstances  excited  the  Grange 
and  also  some  of  the  mechanics'  bodies 
to  great  hostility  to  the  University,  and 
public  sympathy  was  entirely  with  them. 
The   storm  of   denunciation   from   the 
press  was  overwhelming,  and  most  in- 
temperate.    I  think  that  I  am  right  in 
saying  that   the    Sacramento    Record- 
Union  and  the  San  Francisco  Bulletin 
were  the  only  papers  of  importance  that 
did  not  join  it.    "  President  Gilman  and 
the  kid-glove    junta,"    "teaching    rich 
lawyers'  boys  Greek  with  the  farmers' 
money," —  such  were  types  of  the  daily 
phrases  for  months.     There  was  much 
gross   personal   abuse,   and   pamphlets 
and  resolutions  of  various  bodies  were 
added  to  the  tirades  of  the  press.   There 
was  in  a  sense  no  cessation  of  this  for 
years  ;  of  course,  the  newspapers  ceased 
in  time  to  pay  much  attention  to  Univer- 
sity affairs,  but  some  of  them  have  never 
ceased  to  fall  easily  into  a  hostile  tone 
toward  it,  and  when  any  difficulty  arises 
concerning  it  they  are  ready  to  take  it 
for  granted   that   the  University  is  to 
blame. 

It  was  plain  that  the  people  did  not 
desire  a  university.  They  desired  to  use 
the  word,  as  more  imposing  than  "tech- 
nical school,"  and  the  fashion  through- 
out the  West ;  but  they  wished  it  to  be  a. 
technical  school.  It  gave  displeasure 
that  the  ancient  languages  should  be 
taught  at  all  in  the  institution.  Profes- 
sor Carr  was  elected  State  Superintend- 
ent of  Education  as  a  demonstration  in 
his  favor.  It  was  a  very  serious  matter, 


for  the  University  was  really  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Legislature,  which  could 
break  it  into  a  series  of  technical  schools, 
the  course  which  Professor  Carr  and  his 
wife  were  then  advocating ;  and  the 
weight  of  the  Granger  vote  alone  in  the 
Legislature  was  considerable. 

In  this  crisis  the  conditions  of  the  gitt 
of  the  College  of  California  rose  to  an 
unexpected  importance.  It  was  pointed 
out  unceasingly  that  the  site  would  have 
to  be  forfeited  if  the  College  of  Letters 
were  given  up  ;  besides  other  gifts,  such 
as  the  Lieber  library,  given  to  the  Uni- 
versity as  such.  What  would  have  been 
the  result  if  it  had  come  to  a  legal  con- 
flict, it  is  hard  to  say :  the  unceasing 
labor  of  the  friends  of  the  University  in 
the  Legislature,  the  defense  of  the  two 
or  three  friendly  papers,  the  courtesy 
and  tact  of  the  committees  that  received 
the  legislative  committees,  and  showed 
them  the  real  good  faith  in  which  the 
departments  were  being  carried  on,  and 
the  patient  good  nature  with  which  Pro- 
fessor Hilgard,  the  new  professor  of 
agriculture,  conquered  the  confidence 
and  friendship  of  press  and  people,  car- 
ried the  University  safely  around  this, 
its  worst  point  of  danger. 

The  old  College  of  California  men, 
though  they  doubtless  felt  their  worst 
fears  realized,  said  nothing  of  the  sort 
publicly,  and  defended  the  University 
loyally ;  but  the  religious  denominations 
generally  fell  in  with  the  popular  dis- 
praise for  a  converse  reason  :  all  this, 
they  said,  showed  the  danger  of  State  in- 
stitutions, the  impossibility  of  preserv- 
ing classical  learning  when  at  the  mercy 
of  legislatures. 

Their  especial  antagonism  was,  of 
course,  the  absence  of  religious  training, 
and  they  were  unjustifiably  ready  to 
believe  ill  of  the  conduct  of  students  of 
a- "  godless  State  university."  The  con- 
duct of  the  University  students,  how- 
ever, has  been  unusually  good,  as  com- 
pared with  that  in  other  colleges,  and 
no  case  to  justify  the  worst  criticism 


358 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


ever  gave  the  definite  impetus  to  found- 
ing sectarian  colleges ;  so  that  these  have 
been  slow  in  getting  into  existence,  and 
to  this  day,  though  each  denomination 
now  has  its  foundation,  they  constitute 
no  serious  rivalry  to  the  University. 

In  1875  President  Oilman  received  a 
call  to  found  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity.    It  was  a  tempting  call,  for  he 
was  to  be  free  to  organize  it  according 
to  his  own  plan,  making   the  first  real 
graduate  university  in  the  country.     It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  he  would 
not  accept,  but  it  left  the  University  of 
California  in  a  bad  position.     It  was  out 
of  the  question  to  hope  that  any  good 
man  would  come  from  the  East  to  take 
the  presidency.     It  was  too  evident  that 
the  University  had  not  the  backing  of 
the  people.     It  was  not  indeed  certain 
that  it  would  be  in  existence  many  years. 
The  antagonisms  within  the  faculty  had 
not   been   closed  by  the   departure  of 
Professors  Carr  and  Swinton.  A  legacy 
of  internal  feud  was  left,  which  lasted 
for  many  years,  gathering  itself  always 
mainly  about  the  question  of  technical 
as  opposed  to  liberal  education,  or  as  it 
was  misleadingly  called,  scientific  as  op- 
posed to  classical, —  for  no  question  of 
pure    science    was    concerned".     These 
differences   involved  both   faculty   and 
regents,  and  in  both  bodies  there  were 
for  a  long  time  two  parties,  one  of  which 
desired  in  all  specific  cases  that  arose 
the   predominance  of  the  technical,  or 
practical,  in  the  University  ;  while  the 
other   stood  for  the   policy   President 
Oilman  had  left,  which  seemed  to  some 
at  the  time  a  preference  for  the  liberal 
courses,  but  which  I  am   satisfied  was 
what  it  claimed  to  be,  the  restoration  of 
these  to  a  position  of  full  equality.    For 
some  years  the  colleges  of  liberal  arts 
were  on  the   whole  at  a  disadvantage. 
Up   to   the   appointment   of   Professor 
Moses,  for  instance,  in  the  fall  of  1875, 
there  was  absolutely  not  a  line  of  in- 
struction in  history  or  economics  in  the 
University 


With  this  effort  for  the  development 
of  the  University  outside  the  technical 
courses,  the  later  appointed  professors, 
even  of  technical  specialties,  have  been 
in  full  sympathy,  but  the  earlier  men 
regarded  it  with  suspicion.  As  the 
revenues  grow,  and  as  it  becomes  more 
clearly  understood  throughout  the  coun- 
try what  a  university  is,  such  differences 
and  ^difficulties  disappear. 

After  President  Oilman  left  the  Uni- 
versity, Professor  Le  Conte  served  first 
as  acting  president,  then  as  president 
till  1881  ;  Mr.  W.  T.  Reid  till  1885  ;  Pro- 
fessor Edward  S.  Holden  till  1888;  Mr. 
Horace  Davis  till  1890.  Since  then, 
Professor  Kellogg  has  been  acting  pres- 
ident. When  the  new  constitution  was 
adopted,  in  1879,  the  University  was  firm- 
ly fixed  in  it,  beyond  further  reach  of  leg- 
islative moods.  The  "Vrooman  Act/' 
approved  February  14,  1887,  which  made 
that  part  of  the  income  derived  directly 
from  the  State  come  by  a  fixed  tax  in- 
stead of  legislative  action,  was  the  final 
emancipation. 

In  spite  of  the  public  clamor  against 
President  Oilman,  and  the  presence  of 
a  hostile  group  in  his  own  faculty,  the 
loyalty  of  the  University  to  him  was 
great,  and  the  great  majority  of  educated 
people  and  influential  business  men 
outside  had  especial  confidence  in  him. 
The  regret  when  he  went  away  was 
sharp  and  bitter ;  in  the  long  struggle 
that  followed,  he  was  always  looked 
back  to  as  the  lost  leader  ;  and  by  the 
time  that  reports  of  his  Eastern  success 
(which  his  friends  did  not  fail  to  see 
thoroughly  and  reproachfully  "  rubbed 
in  ")  had  awed  detractors,  the  period  of 
his  administration  became  the  golden 
age  of  University  tradition  to  a  degree 
that  made  a  real  embarrassment  to  suc- 
cessors, —  it  has  been  said  to  me  that 
President  Oilman  himself  would  be  at  a 
disadvantage  here  in  competing  with 
the  Oilman  tradition.  The  University 
has,  in  fact,  at  no  other  time  had,  or 
understood  itself  as  having,  a  per- 


1892.]                                   The   University  of  California.                                        359 

manent  president.    The  successive  men  about  the  presidency  shows  that  there 

in   the  chair  have  taken  it,  as  Doctor  is  a  weakness   somewhere.     Other  uni- 

Durant  did  in  the  first  place,  to  bridge  versities   have  trouble   in   finding    the 

a  gap  and  keep  things  going,  or  with  a  right  president  and   keeping  him,  but 

sense  of  experiment  on  both  sides.     It  not  such  trouble  as  we  have  had.     The 

is   this   condition   of  affairs   about  the  press,  since  its  great  blunder  in  the  case 

presidency  that  now  chiefly  keeps  up  in  of  President  Oilman,  has  been  disposed 

the  public  mind  the  discontent  with  the  to  support  the  successive  presidents,  and 

University  that   began  in  resistance  to  lay  the  blame  on  faculty  and  regents  :— 

the  widening  of  courses.  the  faculty  is  insubordinate,  and  broke 

Yet,  if   one   will  look  at  net  results,  down  this  president  ;  the  regents  med- 

the  achievements  of  the  seventeen  years  died,  and  broke  down  that  one. 

since  President  Oilman  went  away  have  There  is  a  certain  knowledge  of   the 

been  enormous.  facts  in  this  :  insubordinate  is  a  foolish 

The  growth  in  wealth  and  numbers  word,  because  a  faculty  are  not  the  un- 
speaks  for  itself.  The  freedom  from  derlings  of  a  president,  but  the  faculty 
political  meddling  assured  by  the  present  has  never  been  well  in  harmony  with 
arrangement  of  income,  and  by  constitu-  any  administration  until  the  present  one ; 
tional  provision,  is  a  gain  simply  inestim-  and  the  regents  have  felt  it  right,  in  the 
able,  and  perhaps  the  real  turning-point  unsettled  condition  of  the  presidency, 
in  the  history  of  the  University.  The  to  assume  a  minuter  control  of  things  at 
accrediting  system  that  now  binds  Berkeley  than  they  were  really  corn- 
together  the  high  schools  and  the  Uni-  petent  to  do.  But  neither  of  these 
versity  assures  it  such  a  corps  of  prepar-  things  is  a  cause,  but  a  result,  of  the 
atory  schools  as  no  other  university  in  failure  to  settle  the  presidency  question. 
the  country  has,  and  makes  it  give  such  Let  me  say  frankly,  the  real  difficulty 
service  to  public  school  education  as  no  has  been  that  the  regents  have  not 
other  does.  A  little  of  this  growth  is  been  good  judges  of  men  for  university 
the  inevitable  result  of  time,  in  scatter-  purposes.  They  have  come  out  all  right 
ing  alumni  throughout  the  State,  to  in  the  long  run,  and  made  a  good  facul- 
become  defenders  of  the  University,  ty ;  but  they  have  come  slowly  to  see 
Much  of  it  has  come  from  individual  which  men  to  trust  for  wisdom  and  fair- 
good  things  done  by  successive  pres-  ness,  and  which  ones  to  check,  and  have 
idents,  though  no  continuous  policy  was  bred  confusions  in  learning.  They  will 
possible.  Still  more  has  been  done  by  come  out  all  right  with  the  presidency, 
certain  members  of  the  faculty,  who  but  after  years  of  experiment  most  try- 
with  a  wisdom  and  devotion  that  have  ing  to  every  one  concerned,  and  ham- 
never  begun  to  be  appreciated,  have  pering  to  the  University.  Of  the  suc- 
carried  up  their  own  departments,  cessive  presidents,  every  one  was  an 
smoothed  over  differences,  and  by  mu-  able  man,  and  most  successful  in  his 
tual  consultation  and  agreement  given  own  special  work, —  not  one  was  pri- 
the  University  a  steady  and  upward  marily  a  college  president ;  not  one  had 
policy, without  any  continuous  executive  had  training  inside  any  great  university 
head,  and  through  difficulties  greater  elsewhere  within  recent  years,  nor  fol- 
than  those  that  have  half-wrecked  some  lowed  the  developments  of  university 
universities.  I  think  the  whole  faculty  administration.  Not  one  was  first  care- 
would  agree  that  the  chief  credit  of  this  fully  chosen  by  the  regents, —  with  ref- 
is  due  to  Professor  Kellogg.  erence  to  his  special  qualifications  for 

The  regents,  in  the  last  analysis,  must  the  place  and  with   full   regard  to  the 

take  the  honor  of  having  made  a  success  wishes  of  the  faculty, — and  then  strongly 

of  the  University.     Yet   the   difficulty  supported  by  them.     This  experimental 


360                                         The    University  of  California.                                      [Oct. 

way  of  treating  the  presidency  grew,  I  and  care,  with  full  consultation  with  the 
believe,  from  that  same  underrating  of  faculty  and  inquiry  about  other  universi- 
the  importance  of  this  part  of  the  work  ties,  for  the  best  president.  Either  of 
that  was  visible  from  the  first.  The  names  the  two  men  between  whom  they  will 
that  have  been  put  in  nomination  for  the  almost  certainly  choose,— Professor  Kel- 
presidency  first  and  last  make  instructive  logg  and  Professor  Moses, — will  be  a  safe 
reading.  The  early  regents  nominated  and  able  man  in  the  chair,  and  both  are 
each  other ;  they  nominated  military  men  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  University 
whom  they  admired  ;  normal  school  and  its  needs.  Each  is  the  superior  in 
principals  ;  personal  friends.  For  many  some  respects,  and  there  will  be  differ- 
years  after  President  Oilman  went  ence  of  opinion  to  the  end  as  to  which 
away  a  large  minority  of  the  regents  should  be  chosen  :  but  whichever  it  be, 
were  possessed  with  the  idea  of  disre-  he  will  be  loyally  supported  by  faculty  and 
garding  scholarship  and  knowledge  of  regents.  During  the  two  years  of  Pro- 
universities  altogether,  and  choosing  a  fessor  Kellogg's  acting  presidency,  the 
man  for  industrial  success  or  enthusiasm  last  remnants  of  old  controversies  have 
for  the  industrial  arts.  The  recurrent  been  smoothed  away,  and  if  the  news- 
fear  that  some  such  destructive  blunder  papers  will  refrain  from  re-creating  them 
would  be  made  —  though  in  fact  it  never  there  is  no  reason  to  expect  new  ones, 
was --has  injured  the  relation  of  the  The  tone  of  several  of  the  papers  has  not 
faculty  to  the  regents,  lowering  its  con-  been  good  ;  they  have  denounced  the  re- 
fidence  in  them  as  a  body.  gents  for  their. wise  delay  and  long  in- 

In  this  insufficient  appreciation  of  the  quiry  ;  they  have  gossiped  of  the  prefer- 
importance  of  a  university  within  itself  ences  expressed  among  the  faculty,  as  if 
—  its  men,  its  traditions,  its  courses,  its  their  now  thoroughly  self-respecting  and 
ideals —the  regents  simply  represented  mutually  respectful  differences  were  a 
the  public.  They  have  been  chosen  by  •  political  wrangle.  Yet  even  the  papers 
successive  governors,  sometimes  care-  mean  reasonably  well  by  the  University 
lessly,  oftener  to  guard  the  University  now,  and  we  may  expect  that  a  few  years 
funds,  as  they  have  done  with  unusual  more  will  see  their  relation  to  it  as  won- 
devotion  and  skill,  perhaps  greater  than  derfully  improved  as  its  relations  within 
any  other  State  university  has  had  at  itself  have  become, 
its  service  ;  rarely  for  knowledge  of  and  The  appointment  of  alumni  upon  the 
sympathy  with  university  ideas.  The  board  of  regents  has  been  a  great  cause 
pressure  from  the  public  has  always  — perhaps  the  great  cause — of  the  bet- 
been  against  respect  for  scholarship  (in  tered  conditions  :  and  though  others 
itself  considered, —  fame  and  success  may  deserve  the  credit  as  much,  it  is 
through  scholarship  secures  public  fol-  certainly  the  general  disposition  of 
lowing),  and  against  respect  for  the  those  who  watch  University  affairs  with 
dignity  of  a  university  and  its  men.  interest  to  give  it  very  largely  to  Regent 
"What  difference  does  it  make  what  Rodgers,  a  graduate  of  the  Class  of '72, 
the  hired  men  over  at  Berkeley  think  now  a  most  active  and  earnest  regent, 
about  the  president  that  is  to  be  given  cordially  trusted  by  his  colleagues,  the 
them?"  asked  a  leading  journal,  hear-  faculty,  and  the  alumni, —  three  bodies 
ing  that  some  of  the  faculty  had  ad-  between  whom  he  and  the  other  alumni 
dressed  the  regents  on  the  subject.  regents  supply  for  the  first  time  a  link. 

I  can  make  the  criticism  of  the  re-  Some  reasons  have  existed  in  the  con- 
gents  with  the  better  grace,  because  struction  of  the  board  for  a  slower  un- 
it is  now  a  thing  of  the  past.  They  are  derstanding  of  the  conditions  of  the 
seeking,  with  the  utmost  deliberation  University.  It  is  a  very  large  board  - 


1892.J 


The   University  of  California. 


361 


twenty-two  members  ;  different  mem- 
bers are  present  at  different  meetings, 
and  points  already  nearly  settled  are  lia- 
ble to  be  unsettled  over  and  over,  to  the 
annoying  delay  of  all  business.  It  has 
.six  ex  officio  members,  who  come  in  and 
go  out  in  a  body  every  four  years.  A 
constitutional  change,  cutting  off  all  the 
<ex  officio  members  but  the  Governor  and 
.Superintendent  of  Instruction,  reducing 
the  number  of  appointed  regents,  and 
giving  the  alumni  the  election  of  one 
half,  would  probably  complete  the  long 
process  of  bringing  the  University  into 
thorough  working  order.  The  long 
terms,  sixteen  years,  have  so  far  been 
the  salvation  of  the  board,  giving  it 
permanence,  and  enabling  it  to  learn  the 
•lessons  of  experience. 


V. 


I  have  left  myself  little  space  to  speak 
of  the  organization  and  work  of  the 
University.  It  resembles  Cornell  and 
Michigan  most  in  general  plan.  It  has, 
by  its  original  scheme,  six  "  colleges  " 
or  groups  of  courses, — the  colleges  of 
Agriculture,  Mechanics,  Mining,  Chem- 
istry and  Engineering,  and  the  College 
of  Letters.  The  'College  of  Letters  has 
varied  courses  within  it.  The  organiza- 
tion has  become  cumbrous,  and  were  it 
not  rooted  in  the  State  Constitution 
would  be  replaced  by  some  simpler  one, 
probably  an  adjustment  of  the  group 
system.  There  is  so  large  a  range  of 
electives,  however,  that  entire  freedom 
of  choice  in  studies  exists  ;  a  certain 
minimum  of  mathematics  and  of  En- 
glish is  required  for  any  degree,  but 
students  not  asking  degrees  are  under 
no  restriction  whatever.  The  degree 
of  A.B.  is  not  given  without  Greek  ; 
other  degrees  —  B.S.,  B.L.,  Ph.B. — are 
given  in  other  courses.  The  University 
is  regarded  strongest  in  the  department 
of  history  and  economic  and  social 
science,  under  Professor  Moses.  It  is 
weakest  in  pure  science,  although  the 


presence  of  the  Le  Contes  has  obscured 
this  fact.  The  College  of  Chemistry 
is  one  of  the  technical  colleges,  intended 
as  a  preparation  for  economic  and  pro- 
fessional uses  of  the  science  ;  there  is 
no  course  in  which  pure  science  pre- 
dominates. This  is  a  result  mainly  of  the 
early  devotion  to  "  practical "  studies  ; 
science  that  led  to  no  visible  economic 
result  was  not  valued.  The  faculty  is 
well  aware  of  the  deficiency,  but  has 
not  until  lately,  been  able  to  remedy  it. 
Courses  in  botany,  physics,  and  as- 
tronomy, besides  Professor  Le  Conte's 
courses  in  geology  and  zoology,  have 
always  been  given,  and  biology  is  now 
added.  Since  the  establishment  of  the 
Lick  Astronomical  Department,  of 
course,  the  work  in  astronomy  is  very 
extensive,  but  that  is  rather  in  the  line 
of  research  than  of  instruction.  Full 
and  successful  courses  in  philosophy 
are  offered  by  Professor  Howison,  who 
occupies  the  chair  founded  by  Mr.  D.  O. 
Mills.  The  department  of  English  lan- 
guage and  literature,  first  really  put  on  its 
feet  by  the  late  Professor  Sill,  and  then 
thoroughly  organized  by  Professor  Cook, 
(now  of  Yale),  is  also  very  important. 
The  technical  colleges  have  an  excellent 
name,  and  their  graduates  have  been  suc- 
cessful professionally,  especially  those 
of  the  engineering  course.  The  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture,  under  Professor 
Hilgard,  has  now  developed  into  a  large 
and  active  center  of  agricultural  inves- 
tigation. It  maintains  experiment  sta- 
tions in  different  parts  of  the  State, 
answers  inquiries,  oversees  farmers' 
institutes,  and  is  thoroughly  appreci- 
ated now  by  the  farmers,  who  formerly 
had  the  idea  that  it  was  intended  as  a 
sort  of  practice-school  for  farming,  and 
should  engage  a  farmer  to  teach  boys 
to  plow  and  prune. 

Graduate  degrees  are  given  under 
conditions  as  strict  as  are  required  any- 
where in  America,  and  the  graduate 
work  is  increasing  yearly. 

To  the  original  six  colleges  have  been 


362 


The   University  of  California. 


[Oct. 


added  the  Lick  Astronomical  Depart- 
ment, on  Mount  Hamilton*,  and  the  affil- 
iated schools  in  San  Francisco  —  the 
Hastings  College  of  Law,  and  the  Col- 
leges of  Medicine,  Pharmacy,  and  Den- 
tistry ;  University  Extension  courses, 
also,  are  now  given  in  San  Francisco, 
but  the  members  of  these  are  not  en- 
rolled as  students.  Of  these  allied  de- 
partments, I  shall  hope  to  speak  in  a 
second  article. 

The  students  at  Berkeley  have  a  good 
record  in  general  behavior,  and  there 
has  been  a  remarkably  small  number  of 
cases  of  serious  discipline.  This  is  half 
the  work  of  the  students  themselves,  for 
in  the  changing  condition  of  the  presi- 
dency they  have  been  allowed  to  run 
their  own  affairs  a  good  deal.  The  pres- 
ence of  young  women,  who  now  consti- 
tute over  one  third  the  number  of  stu- 
dents at  Berkeley,  has  had  much  to  do 
with  this.  There  is  no  dormitory  system, 
and  many  students  live  in  Oakland  and 
San  Francisco.  This  has  checked  some 
branches  of  college  athletics,- but  in  track 
athletics  the  University  boys  hold  the 
Coast  championship.  They  have  a  good 
cinder  track,  and  have  been  encouraged 
by  the  faculty  in  athletic  sports,  though 
not  to  the  extent  that  prevails  in  the 
English  and  oldest  American  universi- 
ties. They  have  an  excellent  gymnasi- 
um, the  gift  of  Mr.  A.  K.  P.  Harmon,  of 
Oakland,  and  excellent  gymnasium  in- 
struction, which,  with  military  drill,  is 
compulsory  for  the  young  men ;  the 
gymnasium  opportunities  of  the  young 
women  are  not  so  good. 

The  grounds  of  the  University,  situ- 
ated on  the  slope  up  to  the  Contra  Cos- 
ta hills,  opposite  San  Francisco  and  the 
Golden  Gate,  have  been  worked  over 
much,  at  great  expense,  and  with  small 


result.  Mr.  Olmsted's  plan,  drawn  for 
the  College  of  California,  was  declined 
by  the  regents,  and  various  other  plans 
have  been  tried  and  dropped.  The 
water  rights  of  the  College,  also,  have 
somehow  been  in  part  lost,  and  the  sup- 
ply of  water  is  insufficient.  The  natural 
beauty  of  the  site,  and  the  noble  view, 
however,  compensate  for  much.  The 
buildings  are  most  of  them  good,  though 
none  compare  in  beauty  with  the  Le- 
land  Stanford,  Jr.,  University,  and  there 
is  no  comprehensive  plan  among  them  ; 
they  are-even  of  unpleasantly  differing 
shades  .of  brick.  The  affiliated  schools 
being  in  San  Francisco,  the  Observatory 
at  Mount  Hamilton,  and  the  buildings  at 
Berkeley  scattered  over  a  considerable 
tract  of  ground,  they  make  a  less  dis- 
play than  those  of  most  universities  of 
equal  importance.  The  library,  of  some 
fifty  thousand  volumes,  is  well  housed 
and  very  convenient.  This  building 
was  the  gift  of  Mr.  H.  D.  Bacon  and 
the  State  in  equal  shares. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  buildings, 
many  departments,  many  equipments, 
greatly  needed.  The  income,  though 
steady  and  increasing,  is  small  for  a  great 
university,  and  will  never  be  large 
enough  to  count  among  the  first  in  the 
country,  unless  an  era  of  large  private 
endowments  sets  in.  Harvard  and  Yale 
sometimes  receive  half  a  million  dollars 
in  gifts  in  a  year.  James  Lick's  gift  of 
the  Observatory,  Judge  Hastings'  gift 
of  the  Law  College,  and  Mrs.  Hearst's  of 
$100,000  in  scholarships,  are  so  far  the 
only  ones  that  have  reached  $100,000. 
One  or  two  large  private  fortunes  ad- 
ded to  the  State  funds  would  make  one 
of  the  greatest  universities  in  existence 
—  a  truly  magnificent  end  of  the  brave 
beginnings  and  early  struggles. 

Milicent  W.  Shinn, 


1892!] 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


479 


THE  UNIVERSITY   OF  CALIFORNIA.     II.    THE   LICK   ASTRO- 
NOMICAL  DEPARTMENT. 


I. 


THE  Lick  Observatory  is  in  a  sense 
the  crowning  possession  of  the  Univer- 
sity. From  the  scholar's  point  of  view 
it  is  eminent  over  the  other  departments 
in  being  the  single  one  that  is  mainly 
given  up  to  original  research.  From  the 
popular  point  of  view  it  is  magnificent 
in  the  possession  of  the  largest  telescope 
n  earth.  It  gratifies  the  pride  of  the 
State  keenly  to  know  that  pilgrims  from 
foreign  lands  count  it  one  of  the  things 
that  must  be  seen  in  California.  No 
Philistine  doubt  of  the  utility  of  pure 
science  can  stand  against  this  pride  ; 
and  a  public  that  has  seen  the  time 
when  it  was  half -ready  to  pull  the  courses 
at  Berke  ey  to  pieces  in  contempt  of 
"  unpractica  learning,"  has  never  asked, 
"  What  practical  use  in  knowing  o  a 
fifth  moon  of  Jupiter,  or  a  shadowy  du- 
plicate streak  across  Mars  ?  "  Doubtless 
the  fascination  of  the  heavens  —  of  mys- 
tery, exploration,  and  discovery  —  has 
had  much  to  do,  also,  with  the  inter- 
est in  the  Observatory ;  the  diligence 
and  skill  with  which  its  results  have 
been  made  known  to  the  people  has 
counted  for  much  ;  and  none  of  the 
thousands  who  have  visited  the  summit 
of  Mount  Hamilton  can  have  failed  to 
come  away  in  some  degree  awed  by  the 
singularly  visible  form  science  takes  on 
in  that  great  dome  in  the  heart  of  the 
wilderness,  lifted  up  between  the  sky 
and  the  tumbled  sea  of  mountain  tops. 

In  spite  of  the  pride  in  it  at  home, 
and  its  good  name  abroad,  the  Lick 
Observatory  is  not  a  rich  institution. 
Mr.  Lick's  gift  was  $700,000.  It  was  at 
first  believed  that  $300,000  o  this  could 
be  saved  for  endowment,  but  as  the  work 
of  building  and  equipping  on  the  moun- 


tain-top progressed  it  became  evident 
that  this  would  be  impossible ;  and  in 
fact,  when  all  was  done,  the  Observatory 
had  cost  about  $600,000,  leaving  about 
$100,000  for  endowment.  The  interest 
on  this  fund  was  supplemented  by  an  ap- 
propriation from  the  general  revenues  of 
the  University.  This  diversion  of  money 
from  the  main  work  of  the  University  to 
a  branch  that  had  been  expected  to  be 
dependent  on  its  own  revenues  was  not 
accomplished  without  opposition,  but,  I 
think,  is  generally  aquiesced  in  now  as 
necessary  to  any  adequate  use  of  the 
Observatory  property.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, by  any  means  a  desirable  way  for 
the  income  of  the  Observatory  to  be 
permanently  derived  :  there  should  be  a 
separate  endowment  sufficient  for  all 
needs.  Even  with  this  help  the  full  use 
of  the  resources  of  the  Observatory  can- 
not be  had,  for  lack  of  a  sufficient  staff. 
The  latest  report  gives  the  following 
comparison  of  the  working  force  in  sev- 
eral observatories :  — 

Lick  Observatory 6 

Greenwich  Observatory 20 

Harvard  "  40 

Paris  "  17  astrono- 

mers, and  many  computers. 

Pulkowa  Observatory 16 

Rio  Janeiro        "         .    16 

Washington        "         19 

Yet,  the  report  adds,  "at  least  as 
much  is  expected  from  the  Lick  Obser- 
vatory as  from  any  of  these  establish- 
ments." 

The  income  of  the  Harvard  College 
Observatory  was  stated  by  its  latest 
report  at  $33,507  from  funds,  $64,958 
from  all  sources.  The  average  appro- 
priations for  salaries  and  current  main- 
tenance of  the  Washington  Observa- 


480 


tory  are  stated  at  $56,000.  The  Lick 
Observatory  received  last  year  as  inter- 
est on  its  funds,  $5,100  ;  from  the  Uni- 
versity funds,  $21,000. 

That  it  has  under  the  circumstances 
held  its  own  among  the  observatories  of 
the  world,  as  it  has,  seems  to  me  a  re- 
markable evidence  of  the  diligence,  pre- 
cision, ability,  and  efficient  adjustment 
of  the  work  done  by  every  one  of  the 
small  group  of  astronomers.  1  find  the 
Harvard  Observatory  and  the  Lick  Ob- 
servatory named  together  (in  a  pamphlet 
concerning  the  Washington  Observato- 
ry, put  forth  by  a  number  of  American 
astronomers)  as  "  the  two  chief  observa- 
tories of  America."  In  turning  over  the 
great  foreign  astronomical  publications 
I  find  the  Lick  Observatory  mentioned 
with  constant  respect ;  its  observations 
texts  for  the  discussions  of  learned  soci- 
eties and  utilized  in  the  work  of  the 
great  observatories ;  its  astronomers' 
names  signed  to  frequent  communica- 
tions. Nor  this  by  any  means  only  in 
matters  depending  on  "  the  mere  brute 
power  of  a  great  telescope,"  (to  plagiarize 
a  clever  phrase,)  though  of  course  the 
great  telescope  is  its  special  distinction. 
I  shall  try  to  give  later  in  this  article 
some  summary  of  the  accomplishment 
of  the  Observatory  so  far,  and  I  think  it 
will  be  seen  to  be  large  in  proportion  to 
the  means  that  have  been  available. 

It  is  evident  that  the  current  expenses 
of  the  Observatory  are  all  that  its  in- 
come could  hope  to  cover.  The  sending 
out  of  a  scientific  expedition,  the  pur- 
chase of  new  expensive  instruments,  or 
any  such  outlay,  can  be  accomplished 
only  by  means  of  gifts.  And  in  fact  a 
good  deal  of  what  has  been  done  already 
has  been  due  to  the  success  of  the  direct- 
or in  interesting  wealthy  people  in  the 
work,  and  obtaining  money  for  special 
purposes  of  this  sort.  In  the  four  years 
of  the  existence  of  the  Observatory 
nearly  $10,000  has  been  thus  given; 
and  now  Mrs.  Phrebe  Hearst  has  given 
a  fund,  which  will  yield  at  least  $2,000  a 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[Nov. 


year  and  will  be  in  part  applied  to  the 
maintenance  of  fellowships,  thus  in- 
creasing the  staff  to  some  extent ;  while 
it  can  be  in  part  reserved  for  important 
special  purposes. 


II. 


No  one  seems  to  know  how  or  when  the 
idea  of  a  great  telescope  entered  Mr. 
Lick's  mind.  It  was  there  before  he  took 
any  one  into  his  confidence.  He  had 
never  looked  through  a  telescope  ;  had 
never  seen  a  real  telescope,  so  far  as  any 
one  knows.  He  was  entirely  ignorant 
of  astronomy,  and  not  even  in  an  un- 
learned way  an  observer  of  the  skies, — 
in  early  talks  about  his  plans,  for  in- 
stance, he  wished  to  be  shown  the  moon 
in  Professor  Davidson's  telescope  out  of 
his  north  windows.  In  some  way,  how- 
ever, through  chance  readings,  a  sense 
of  the  glory  of  astronomical  discovery 
had  laid  hold  upon  him,  and  the  first 
persons  with  whom  he  talked  of  the  dis- 
position of  his  fortune  found  the  plan 
of  the  telescope  already  firmly  fixed  in 
his  mind. 

James  Lick  was  of  "Pennsylvania 
Dutch  "  origin  ;  he  was  brought  up  in 
the  narrowest  circumstances  and  with 
thenarrowest  intellectual  opportunities  ; 
was  in  early  manhood  a  mechanic  in  and 
near  Pennsylvania,  then  spent  most  of 
his  mature  years  in  business  in  South 
America.  He  came  to  California  in 
1847  with  a  good  deal  of  property,  in- 
vested early  in  real  estate,  and  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  found  himself  the 
owner  of  several  millions,  almost  alone 
in  the  world,  and  failing  in  bodily  pow- 
ers ;  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should 
ponder  much  on  the  disposition  of  his 
money.  He  had  no  belief  whatever  in 
personal  immortality, —  he  was,  in  fact, 
a  man  of  most  marked  disbeliefs  in  re- 
ligious matters,  recognizing  Thomas 
Paine  as  his  leader  in  thought, —  but  he 
had  a  great  desire  for  that  immortality 
in  men's  memories  that  follows  the  few 


1892.] 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


481 


Engraved  from  Painting  at  the  Lick  Observatory. 

JAMES    LICK. 


famous  ones  of  earth,  and  he  proposed 
so  to  dispose  his  millions  as  to  win  it. 
He  did  not  at  first  altogether  realize 
that  in  this  aspiration  he  that  saveth 
his  life  shall  lose  it ;  nor  how  impossi- 
ble it  is,  in  this  stage  of  the  world's  pro- 
gress, that  a  memorial  should  bring  glo- 
ry to  a  man's  name  unless  at  the  same 
time  it  is  of  great  service  to  mankind. 
His  first  will  left  as  the  main  bequest 
a  million  dollars  for  statues  of  himself 
and  his  parents,  to  be  erected  on  the 
heights  overlooking  the  shores  of  the 
ocean  and  bay.  Yet  he  was  more  than 
indifferent  to  having  his  portrait  paint- 
ed, and  a  passion  for  statuary  for  its  own 
sake  —  abundantly  shown  in  the  minor 
bequests — probably  entered  into  his 
desire  to  have  his  bodily  presentment 
thus  kept  for  all  time. 

In  1873  he  began  to  take  into  his  con- 
fidence  a  few   acquaintances,  and  ask 
VOL.  xx — 42. 


their  judgment  of  his  plans.  Although 
he  had  lived  a  very  isolated  life,  and  had 
no  near  friends,  he  was  in  his  way  at- 
tached to  the  Pioneer  Association  and 
had  made  acquaintances  there,  and  he 
had  a  liking  for  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences and  some  sympathy  with  its  pur- 
suits. 

In  February,  1873,  he  quite  unexpect- 
edly offered  the  Academy  a  piece  of  land 
on  Market  Street,  the  site  of  its  present 
building.  Professor  George  Davidson, 
then  president  of  the  Academy,  called 
to  thank  him,  and  Mr.  Lick  then  told 
him  of  his  purpose  of  leaving  money  for 
a  great  telescope.  It  could  not  have 
been  far  from  this  time  that  he  spoke 
of  his  intentions  to  Mr.  D.  J.  Staples, 
whom  he  knew  through  the  Pioneer  As- 
sociation, and  showed  him  his  will.  Mr. 
Staples  became  from  that  time  one  of 
his  principal  advisers  in  matters  con- 


482 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[N 


ov. 


cerning  the  trusts  in  general,  as  Profes- 
sor Davidson  was  with  regard  to  the  tel- 
escope. There  were  others,  however, 
with  whom  he  talked,  and  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  trace  the  influences  that 
finally  shaped  his  benefactions  ;  for  he 
had  a  way  of  consulting  one  and  another, 
and  quietly  comparing  notes  on  their 
advice,  without  letting  either  one  know 
what  he  was  saying  to  the  other  ;  and  in 
general  I  should  judge  that  where  their 
advice  agreed,  he  took  it  ;  where  it  did 
not,  he  followed  his  own  way. 

Mr.  Staples  felt  it  his  duty  to  tell 
Mr.  Lick  frankly  that  his  bequests  for 
statues  of  himself  and  his  family  would 
be  utterly  useless  as  a  memorial ;  that 
the  world  would  not  be  interested  in 
them  ;  and  when  Mr.  Lick  urged  that 
such  costly  statues  would  be  preserved 
for  all  time,  as  the  statues  of  antiquity 
now  remained  the  precious  relics  of  a 
lost  civilization,  answered,  almost  at 
random,  "  More  likely  we  shall  get  into 
a  war  with  Russia  or  somebody,  and  they 
will  come  around  here  with  warships 
and  smash  the  statues  to  pieces  in  bom- 
barding the  city." 

Mr.  Lick  was  struck  by  this,  and  after 
a  few  moments'  consideration  asked, 
"  What  shall  I  do  with  the  money  then  ? " 

Mr.  Staples  thought  it  too  important 
a  question  to  answer  hastily,  and  after 
talking  with  Mr.  Ralston,  the  banker, 
he  brought  together  at  Mr.  Ralston's 
home  a  small  group  of  careful  men,— 
among  whom  were  Mayor  Selby.  Presi- 
dent Gilman,  and  Doctor  Stillman,  to 
consider  it ;  out  of  this  conference  came 
most  of  the  suggestions  that  Mr.  Lick 
later  adopted.  There  were  points  in  the 
will  that  Mr.  Lick's  advisers  felt  sure 
would  injure  its  validity,  and  he  con- 
sented to  draw  a  second  will,  and  finally 
a  deed  of  trust.  These  things,  however, 
concern  rather  the  story  of  the  trusts 
in  general  than  that  of  the  telescope. 

The  first  will  had  contained  a  bequest 
for  this ;  and  whatever  other  provisions 
were  changed,  this  was  never  ques- 


tioned by  any  one,  nor  changed  except 
as,  under  the  influence  of  Professor 
Davidson,  the  amount  was  increased. 
Mr.  Lick  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of 
any  of  the  auxiliaries  needed  by  a  tele- 
scope, or  of  the  purposes  of  astronomy 
beyond  bare  discovery;  and  all  this  was 
left  to  Professor  Davidson  to  outline  to 
him  in  the  few  months  of  their  confer- 
ences. Out  of  the  very  interesting  ver- 
bal narrative  that  Professor  Davidson 
has  given  me  of  this  episode,  he  is  will- 
ing to  have  in  print  at  present  only  so 
much  as  is  contained  in  the  following 
memorandum,  which  he  wishes  me  to 
leave  in  his  own  words  :— 

I  am  not  willing,  at  this  time,  to  write  the  narra- 
tive of  my  relations  with  James  Lick  from  February, 
1873,  to  August,  1874,  but  I  give  very  briefly  the 
following  items  of  interest : 

James  Lick  originally  intended  to  erect  the  Ob- 
servatory at  Fourth  and  Market  streets.  His  ideas 
of  what  he  wanted  and  what  he  should  do  were  of 
the  very  vaguest  character.  It  required  months  of 
careful  approaches  and  the  proper  presentation  of 
facts  to  change  his  views  on  location.  He  next 
had  a  notion  of  locating  it  on  the  mountains  over- 
looking his  mill-site,  near  Santa  Clara,  and  thought 
it  would  be  a  Mecca, — but  only  in  the  sense  of  a 
show. 

Gradually  I  guided  his  judgment  to  place  it  on  a 
great  elevation  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  by  placing  be- 
fore him  the  results  of  my  experimental  work  at 
great  elevations,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  other 
high-altitude  observers.  At  the  same  time,  by  my 
presentation  of  facts  and  figures  of  the  cost  and 
maintenance  of  other  observatories,  he  named  the 
sum  of  $1,200,000  in  one  of  his  wills,  as  the  sum  to 
be  set  aside  for  founding  the  James  Lick  Observa- 
tory, and  for  its  support. 

In  making  him  acquainted  with  the  size  and  per- 
formance of  the  telescopes  of  the  larger  observatories, 
I  naturally  mentioned  the  great  reflector  of  Lord 
Rosse.  That  seemed  to  fire  his  ambition,  and  at  the 
next  interview  he  insisted  on  a  refractor  of  six  feet  in 
diameter.  It  required  long  and  patient  explanations 
to  get  him  down  to  forty  inches,  which  was  the  di- 
ameter we  finally  adopted. 

In  October,  1873, 1  obtained  his  permission  to  make 
known  to  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences  the 
main  facts  of  his  intention  to  place  the  largest  re- 
fracting telescope  that  could  be  constructed  at  an 
elevation  of  10,000  feet  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas.  I 
have  not  the  announcement  within  reach,  but  it  was 
published  in  the  Alia  California  late  in  October,  I 
think  the  2lst.  A  short  time  before  that  I  had  con- 


1892.] 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


483 


fidentially  made  the  facts  of  Lick's  intention  known 
to  Leland  Stanford  and  his  wife. 

An  eminent  astronomer  had  nearly  frustrated  the 
whole  project,  by  urging  Mr.  Lick  to  adopt  a  reflect- 
ing telescope  instead  of  a  refractor  ;  but  he  had  a 
remarkably  clear  mechanical  mind,  and  I  had  very 
little  trouble  in  satisfying  him  of  the  weakness  of  the 
suggestion. 

Before  I  went  to  Washington  for  consultation  with 


When  he  again  changed  his  views,  and  determined 
to  locate  the  observatory  on  the  vastly  inferior  site 
of  Mount  Hamilton,  I  declined  further  conference 
with  him. 

The  whole  of  my  intercourse  with  him  was  full  of 
curious  and  interesting,  and  sometimes  dramatic, 
incidents,  that  have  never  been  sought  by  any  one 
professing  to  write  the  history  of  the  Lick  Observa- 
tory. 


Photo  by  H.  E.  Mathews. 


AN   OCEAN   OF    FOG    BELOW    MX.    HAMILTON,    LOOKING    NORTH. 


other  observers  for  the  Transit  of  Venus  expeditions 
of  1874,  Mr.  Lick  held  to  the  decision  of  the  refrac- 
tor at  a  great  elevation,  and  details  had  been  decided 
upon,  although  he  had  several  times  changed  his 
will  in  other  matters.  Before  departing  I  showed 
him  that  by  the  Code  of  California  he  could  not  then 
devise  by  will  to  any  corporate  body,  and  urged  him 
to  make  a  Deed  of  Trust. 

Upon  my  return  I  found  he  had  made  the  Deed  of 
Trust,  and  that  some  of  the  Pioneers  had  prevailed 
upon  him  to  locate  the  observatory  on  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Tahoe  ;  and  had  prevailed  upon  him 
to  reduce  the  $1,200,000  to  $700,000. 


The  trust  deed  was  dated  July,  1874  ; 
for  over  a  year  and  a  half  Mr.  Lick  had 
been  continuously  occupied  in  consulta- 
tions and  plans  as  to  the  exact  disposal 
of  the  money.  He  now  began  to  occupy 
himself  with  the  carrying  out  of  his  fa- 
vorite purpose,  the  erection  of  the  tele- 
scope. The  deed  did  not  bind  him  pos- 
itively to  the  Tahoe  site,  and  his  mind 
lingered  about  nearer  ones,  for  he  had 
from  the  first  been  reluctant  to  have 


484 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[Nov. 


Photo  by  H.  E.  Mathews. 


THE  OBSERVATORY  FROM  THK  KAST. 


the  observatory  so  far  from  routes  of 
travel ;  he  wished  it  to  be  as  much  vis- 
ited, as  constantly  before  the  eyes  of 
people,  as  possible.  He  found  advisers 
who  favored  various  nearer  sites,— chief- 
ly on  the  ground  of  the  severity  of  the 
winters  at  Tahoe  ;  and  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1875  he  had  his  agent,  Mr.  Fraser, 
examine  and  report  on  a  number  of  these 
sites,  Mount  Hamilton  among  them.  Mr. 
Lick  had  been  a  citizen  of  Santa  Clara 
County  until  1873,  and  had  property 
there,  and  when  Mr.  Fraser  reported 
that  Mount  Hamilton  was  the  most  ac- 
cessible and  the  most  convenient  for 
building,  and  when  the  county  agreed 
to  construct  a  road  to  the  summit,  he 
decided  finally  to  place  the  Observatory 
there. 

It  is  something  over  4,200  feet  high, 
and  as  it  was  the  first  great  astronomi- 


cal establishment  to  be  placed  at  any 
considerable  height,  it  was  talked  of  all 
over  the  scientific  world  for  this,  as  well 
as  for  the  great  telescope.  An  article 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review  gives  Mr. 
Lick  great  credit  for  having  "felt  in- 
stinctively,'' though  without  astronomi- 
cal knowledge,  what  the  astronomers 
were  just  coming  to  perceive, —  that  the 
great  need  of  their  science  was  high 
altitude  observations  ;  and  for  having 
been  "  from  the  first  determined  "  upon 
taking  the  pioneer  step  in  this  direc- 
tion. In  fact,  it  had  taken  a  great  deal 
of  pressure,  not  from  Professor  David- 
son only,  for  Mr.  Staples  and  doubtless 
others  said  much  to  him  on  this  point, 
to  prevent  the  location  of  the  Observ- 
atory between  Pioneer  Hall  and  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  Building,  under 
the  fogs  of  the  peninsula,  and  amid  the 


1892.] 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


485 


jarring  of  drays.     Professor  Davidson,  heights,  also,  the  freedom  from  fogs  on 

however,  had  set  his  heart  upon  so  much  the  one  hand,  storms  on  the  other,  may 

more  —  an   elevation  of  not   less  than  be   expected  to   be  greatest,   and    the 

9,000  feet  —  that  he  could  not  reconcile  number  of  clear  nights  in  the  year  the 

himself  to  what  he  felt  the  loss  of  an  highest.     These  are  points,  however,  for 

unprecedented    scientific    opportunity,  astronomers  to  settle.  Certainly  Mount 

And  in  fact  the  Lick  Observatory  may  Hamilton  has  been  praised  over  and  over 

soon   be  surpassed  in  its  advantage  of  as  the  best  site  in  the  world  so  far  occu- 


Ph.it.  i  liy  Taber. 


THE    ROAD   TO   MT.   HAMILTON. 


altitude  by  others,  as  it  is  already  by 
.several  observing  stations.  I  do  not 
know  that  it  follows  that  it  will  be  sur- 
passed in  the  excellence  of  its  "seeing," 
for  I  find  that  astronomers  do  not  agree 
as  to  the  supreme  value  of  high  observ- 
ing stations  ;  for  stellar  observations,  it 
is  said,  rarity  of  air  is  not  so  important 
as  steadiness,  which  does  not  neces- 
sarily depend  on  height  ;  at  medium 


pied  by  any  great  observatory.  Profes- 
sor Burnham's  visit  in  1879,  while  it  was 
still  a  wilderness,  his  sojourn  on  the 
mountain  in  a  temporary  dome,  and  his 
enthusiastic  report  on  the  conditions, 
are  within  every  one's  memory.  In  the 
three  fall  months  of  his  stay  forty-two 
nights  were  "  first-class," —a  higher 
proportion  perhaps  than  at  any  other 
time  of  year ;  but  observers  in  Wash- 


486 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[Nov. 


ington  have  been  known  to  have  but 
thirty-eight  very  good  nights  in  a  year. 
While  Mr.  Lick  was  settling  the  ques- 
tion  of  the  site,  the  trustees  began  to 
consider  that  of  plans.     They  consulted 
Professor    Newcomb,    of    the    United 
States  Naval  Observatory  at  Washing- 
ton, and  during  the  October  of  1874  he 
and  Professor  Holden,  at  that  time  one 
of  the  astronomers  of  the  Washington 
Observatory,   drew  the  general   plans 
that  have  since  been  followed.     At  the 
same  time,  Professor  Holden  was  asked 
by   D.    O.    Mills,  the  president  of  the 
trustees,  to  take  the  directorship  of  the 
observatory,  and  accepted.     The  whole 
work  of  building   and  equipment   was 
of  a  sort  to  require  supervision  from  an 
astronomer,  besides  an  amount  of  per- 
sonal attention  which  it  was  hardly  pos- 
sible for  Mr.  Mills  to  give.     Professor 
Holden  was  a  young  man  for  such  a 
place, —  twenty-eight  years  old, —  but  he 
was  a  man  of  whom  a  great  deal  was  ex- 
pected, energetic  and  brilliant,  and  of 
good  training.     He  had  been  a  year  one 
of  the  astronomers  in  the  Washington 
Observafory   and    Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics in  the  Navy,  before  that  for  two 
years    a  lieutenant   in    the     Engineer 
Corps  and   instructor  at   West    Point, 
where  he  had  graduated  with  distinc- 
tion, after  taking  a  scientific  degree  at 
the  Washington  University  of  St.  Louis. 
But  he  was  not  destined  to  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  director  till  many  years 
later;  for  in  1875,  some  dissatisfaction 
having  arisen  between  Mr.    Lick   and 
certain   of  his   trustees,   he  sought  to 
recall  and  remake  the  trust  deed,  suc- 
ceeded  in    doing  so  through  the  legal 
services  of  Mr.  Felton,  and  in  Septem- 
ber, 1875,  made  a  new   trust   deed,  in 
which  he  reserved  the  right  to  change 
the   trustees.     The  only  other  change 
made   by   this   deed   was,  that  the  ob- 
servatory was  to  be  turned  over  ulti 
mately  to  the  University  instead  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences.    I  have  been  told 
of  a  personal  incident   that    Mr.  Lick 


gave  as  a  reason  for  this  change  ;  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  Mr.  Felton's  influence 
also,  which  was  always  for  the  Univer- 
sity, had  something  to  do  with  it. 

Under  the  new  deed  Mr.  Lick  ap- 
pointed a  board,  of  which  Captain  Floyd 
was  the  president  ;  and  a  year  later  re- 
placed it  by  a  third,  retaining  Captain 
Floyd  as  president,  however.  A  month 
later,  October  i,  1876,  Mr.  Lick  died,  at 
the  age  of  eighty.  He  had  ended  after 
all  by  leaving  no  provision  for  his  own 
tomb  ;  but  he  is  said  to  have  spoken  of 
wishing  to  be  buried  at  the  Observa- 
tory ;  and  in  1887  his  remains  were  car- 
ried to  the  mountain  and  placed  in  a 
mausoleum,  under  the  pier  of  the  great 
telescope. 

In  the  same  year,  1876,  Captain  Floyd 
being  in  London  met  Professor  Holden, 
who  had  been  sent  by  the  government  to 
examine  and  report  upon  the  South 
Kensington  Loan  Collection  of  Scien- 
tific Instruments,  especially  improve- 
ments in  astronomic  and  geodetic  in- 
struments. This  acquaintance  resulted 
in  Professor  Holden's  becoming  the 
scientific  adviser  of  the  board  through 
the  whole  process  of  construction  ;  he 
completed  the  specifications  for  the 
buildings  according  to  the  original  plan, 
took  part  in  the  vast  correspondence 
that  was  carried  on  with  astronomers 
and  opticians  all  over  the  world,  and 
later  attended  to  the  purchase  of  most 
of  the  instruments.  For  three  years 
nothing  but  planning  and  correspond- 
ence could  be  done,  for  the  trust  was 
kept  at  a  standstill  by  the  danger  of  a 
litigation  that  might  have  ended  in  the 
loss  of  the  whole.  Claims  were,  how- 
ever, happily  compromised,  and  in  1880 
work  was  begun  on  the  mountain. 

To  place  buildings  so  substantial  and 
extensive  on  a  bare  peak  twenty-six 
miles  by  mountain  road  from  the  near- 
est town,  was,  of  course,  no  slight  under- 
taking. Seventy-two  tons  of  rock  had 
to  be  removed  to  get  a  level  space  large 
enough  for  the  building,  and  two  sum- 


n 

r. 


s 
•/. 

M 


H 


X 
;c 


488 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[N 


ov. 


EDWARD    S.    HOLDEN. 


mers  were  consumed  in  this  task.  San- 
ta Clara  County  had  promptly  and  effi- 
ciently fulfilled  its  promise,  and  one 
of  the  finest  of  mountain  roads, —  firm, 
even,  and  so  beautifully  graded  that 
there  is  not  a  place  in  it  where  the 
stage-horses  need  break  their  trot,— 
awaited  the  beginning  of  work  on  the 
Observatory.  In  five  years  all  the  build- 
ings were  ready,  except  the  great  dome, 
which  had  to  wait  till  the  telescope  was 
ready. 

Mr.  Lick's  deed  had  provided  for  "  a 
telescope  superior  to  and  more  powerful 
than  any  telescope  yet  made,  with  all  the 
machinery  appertaining  thereto,  and  ap- 
propriately connected  therewith,  .  .  . 
and  also  a  suitable  observatory."  When 
these  words  were  written,  the  largest 
refracting  telescope  in  the  world  was  the 
26-inch  one  of  the  Naval  Observatory, 
made  by  Alvan  Clark  &  Sons,  and  erect- 
ed in  1873.  But  while  the  Lick  trusts 
were  at  a  standstill  three  more  large 
glasses  were  made,  the  largest  one  30 
inches,  made  by  the  Clarks  for  the  Im- 
perial Observatory  at  Pulkowa,  Russia. 


36  inches  was  the  largest  lens  the  Lick 
trustees  could  get  the  Clarks  to  contract 
for  ;  so  at  that  size  the  order  was  given, 
$50,000  being  the  contract  price.  Every 
one  will  remember  the  somewhat  dra- 
matic story  of  this  glass  :  how  Feil  &  Co. 
of  Paris,  undertook  to  cast  it  for  the 
Clarks,  and  sent  the  flint-glass  over 
safely  in  1882,  but  cracked  the  crown- 
glass  in  packing ;  how  the  elder  Feil 
having  retired,  the  sons  tried  in  vain  for 
a  couple  of  years  to  get  the  great  glass 
block  safely  cast,  and  at  last  went  into 
bankruptcy  ;  how  the  elder  Feil  came  to 
the  rescue,  took  charge  of  the  business 
again,  and  near  the  end  of  1885  shipped 
to  the  Clarks  a  perfect  block.  Professor 
Newcomb,  who  visited  Europe  to  inves- 
tigate this  matter  of  glass  disks,  made 
an  interesting  report  on  the  process  of 
making,  which  I  have  seen  quoted.  The 
difficulty  is  to  get  the  glass  of  perfectly 
even  texture  throughout,  and  this  can 
never  be  hoped  for  on  the  first  anneal- 
ing ;  veins  must  be  cut  out,  the  block 
reheated,  pressed  together,  and  again 
annealed,  each  trial  consuming  months. 


j.  M.  SCH.*:BERLE. 


1-92. 


Tke  Lick  Astronomical  Department, 


489 


K.  E.  BARNARD. 


The  Clarks  then  took  a  year  for  the 
"  figuring,"  -  the  delicately  precise 
shaping  of  the  lenses  to  the  most  perfect 
collection  of  light,  so  delicate  that  the 
last  stages  are  done  with  the  thumb  and 
palm  of  the  hand. 

The  mounting  was  made  by  Messrs. 
Warner  and  Swazey,  of  Cleveland,  and 
the  great  dome  by  the  Union  Iron 
Works  of  San  Francisco.  Of  the  me- 
chanical excellences  of  the  work  much 
has  been  said  in  many  journals  ;  and 
although  some  adjustments  were  neces- 
sary before  everything  worked  smooth- 
ly, I  believe  the  work  has  all  proved  to 
be  on  the  whole  wonderfully  perfect 
and  wise.  The  great  telescope,  with  its 
accessories,  cost  about  $200,000. 

Professor  Holden  made  three  visits 
in  1881,  to  attend  to  the  setting  up  of 
the  meridian  circle,  and  observe  the 
transit  of  Mercury;  and  in  1882,  Pro- 
fessor Todd,  of  Amherst  Observatory, 
observed  the  transit  of  Venus  here,  and 
obtained  excellent  results.  In  1885  Pro- 
fessor Holden  came  to  the  State  as 
president  of  the  University  and  director 

Vol..  xx— 43. 


of  the  Observatory,  and  for  the  next 
three  years  made  vacation  headquarters 
at  the  mountain,  and  was  able  to  be  in 
constant  communication  with  the  trus- 
tees in  San  Francisco. 

In  1888  the  Observatory  was  formally 
turned  over  to  the  University  regents, 
and  its  staff  of  astronomers  was  ap- 
pointed. Professor  Holden,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  was  retained  as  director ;  he 
had  been  called  to  the  University  with 
that  understanding.  The  fourteen  years 
that  had  passed  since  his  relation  to  the 
Observatory  began,  had  been  so  occupied 
as  to  give  him  in  unusual  degree  an  "  all- 
round  "  acquaintance  with  the  practical 
and  theoretic  questions  of  his  science. 
He  had  remained  five  years  in  the 
Washington  Observatory,  and  had  been 
successively  in  partial  charge  of  each 
department  of  astronomical  work,  and 
in  each  had  been  employed  not  only  in 
observing,  but  in  calculating  and  in  the 
study  of  results  ;  and  had  made  as  libra- 
rian, bibliographer,  and  writer,  an  un- 
usual aquaintance  with  the  literature  of 


W.  W.  CAMPBELL. 


490  The  Lick  Astronomical  Department.  [Nov. 

the  science.  He  had  in  1881  been  called  tried  to  figure  the  great  lens  with  a  Cor- 
to  the  directorship  of  the  still  unfinished  liss  engine.  This  much  should  be  said  : 
Washburn  Observatory,  at  Madison,  whatever  difficulties  have  occurred  have 
Wisconsin,  and  had  organized  it  effi-  been  aggravated  first  by  the  want  of  a 
ciently  ;  d  given  it  a  good  standing,  permanent  president  in  the  University, 
In  1878  he  had  been  in  charge  of  the  which  raises  questions  of  authority,  and 
United  States  Eclipse  Expedition  to  second  by  the  inherent  difficulties  of 
Central  City,  Colorado  ;  in  1883  of  the  settling  novel  questions  of  administra- 
United  States  Eclipse  Expedition  to  tion  in  a  novel  situation.  This  is  the  first 
the  South  Pacific  Ocean  ;  and  in  1884  great,  permanent  observatory  thrown 
of  the  Division  of  Meteorology  of  the  so  on  its  own  resources,  far  from  uni- 
Northern  Transcontinental  Survey,  versity  or  city  surroundings,  and  with- 
Without  having  attained  brilliant  dis-  out  the  relief  of  contact  with  other  than 
tinction  in  any  one  department  of  his  the  one  line  of  thought.  Nor  is  the  sit- 
science,  he  was  an  astronomer  of  rec-  uation  of  a  remote  military  post  anal- 
ognized  merit  in  all,  as  evidenced  then  ogous,  for  definite  military  precedents 
or  soon  after  by  honorary  degrees  from  there  settle  everything, —  a  system  im- 
several  universities,  and  membership  in  possible  in  a  branch  of  a  modern  univer- 
a  long  list  of  scientific  societies  in  sity,  manned  by  scientific  men,  of  inde- 
America  and  Europe  ;  one  of  these  at  pendent  thought  and  distinction, 
least,  that  of  associate  membership  in  The  appointment  of  his  colleagues 
the  Royal  Astronomical  Society  of  was  left  to  Professor  Holden.  He  se- 
England,  an  honor  enjoyed  by  scarcely  lected  J.  E.  Keeler,  now  director  of  the 
a  dozen  American  astronomers,  and  a  observatory  at  Alleghany,  Pennsylvania, 
practical  guarantee  of  standing.  "  The  S.  W.  Burnham,  E.  E.  Barnard,  and  J. 
first  requisite  for  the  director  of  a  M.  Schaeberle.  Besides  these,  the  only 
great  observatory  "  (I  quote  a  private  full  astronomers,  holding  rank  as  pro- 
letter  from  an  astronomer)  "is  to  have  a  fessors  in  the  University,  have  been 
very  clear  notion  of  just  what  kind  of  Henry  Crew,  now  of  Northwestern 
work  ought  to  be  done,  how  it  should  be  University,  and  W.  W.  Campbell,  ap- 
done,  and  then  to  give  all  the  aid  in  his  pointed  last  year.  Of  those  astronomers 
power  to  the  investigator.  In  all  these  who  are  not  now  on  the  staff,  I  must 
particulars  Professor  Holden  seems  to  not  pause  to  speak,  except  in  the  case 
be  just  the  right  man  in  the  right  place."  of  Professor  Burnham,  who  has  been 
In  carrying  on  the  external  relations  of  connected  with  the  Observatory  until 
the  Observatory,  also, —  relating  it  to  very  lately.  His  somewhat  unique  po- 
other  observatories,  in  this  country  and  sition  among  American  astronomers 
abroad,  seeing  to  it  that  knowledge  deserves  mention.  He  is  not  only  one 
of  its  work  is  thoroughly  and  to  the  of  the  self-created  men  of  science  who 
best  advantage  disseminated, —  Profes-  have  not  been  so  very  rare  in  America 
sor  Holden  has  been  a  successful  di-  (the  story  has  been  told  in  print  and  is 
rector;  aided  in  this  by  a  really  fine  lit-  not  unfamiliar),  but  he  is  an  instance  in 
erary  power  and  a  wide  general  cultiva-  what  I  think  must  be  a  rare  degree  of 
tion.  Of  difficulties  just  now  discussed  the  attainment  of  eminence  through 
by  the  papers,  concerning  the  adjust-  concentration  of  effort  on  a  single  line, 
ment  of  internal  relations,  I  do  not  think  Professor  Burnham  is  not  only  a  special- 
it  suitable  to  say  anything  here.  It  is  ist  in  being  an  observer  merely,  unfamil- 
unfortunate  that  any  one  should  have  iar  with  the  other  sides  of  astronomical 
tried  to  adjust  them  through  the  press  :  science,  but  as  an  observer  he  is  almost 
Mr.  Alvan  Clark  might  as  well  have  exclusively  a  specialist  in  double  stars  ; 


EYE    END  OF   THE   GREAT    EQUATORIAL.      PROFESSOR    KEELER. 


492 


The  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[Nov. 


and  in  discovering  and  measuring  these 
he  has  no  rival.  While  he  was  at  Mount 
Hamilton,  this  branch  of  observation 
naturally  became  very  prominent,  and 
the  great  telescope  was  given  up  to  it 
for  more  than  a  third  of  the  time. 

Professor  Barnard  also  is  a  self-taught 
astronomer,  and  while  not  a  specialist 
in  so  intense  a  sense  as  Professor  Burn- 
ham,  he  is  primarily  an  observer.  His 
keen  vision,  great  power  of  eager  and 
yet  patient  and  laborious  attention,  and 
doubtless  other  elements  in  his  work 
that  astronomers  could  define,  give  him 
in  especial  the  name  of  "  genius  "  among 
his  Colleagues.  Just  now  the  most  bril- 
liant and  generally  interesting  feat  the 
great  glass  has  yet  accomplished,  the 
discovery  of  the  fifth  moon  of  Jupiter, 
has  brought  Professor  Barnard  the  more 
into  note.  Before  this,  however,  he  had 
made  some  remarkable  observations  on 
comets,  following  them  to  unprecedent- 
ed distances  and  detecting  their  ap- 
proach before  anyone  else.  In  1891  he 
discovered  all  the  five  comets  of  the 
year,  including  two  new  ones  ;  in  all,  he 
has  discovered  nineteen  comets  in  ten 
years.  Besides  these  most  striking 
observations,  "  Professor  Barnard  has 
made  a  very  large  number"  (I  quote  a 
newspaper  account  by  Professor  Hoi- 
den)  "  upon  the  physical  appearance  of 
the  planets  Venus,  Jupiter,  and  Saturn, 
upon  the  zodiacal  light,  etc.,  upon  mete- 
ors, lunar  eclipses,  double  stars,  occulta- 
tions  of  stars,  etc.,  and  he  has  discovered 
a  considerable  number  of  new  nebulae 
also." 

Professor  Schaeberle  is  an  astronomer 
of  full  university  preparation,  trained 
thoroughly  and  soundly  on  all  sides  of 
his  science,  and  in  those  allied  sciences 
that  university  preparation  includes. 
A  graduate  of  Michigan  University  in 
1876,  he  was  instructor  in  practical  as- 
tronomy in  the  observatory  there,  refus- 
ing calls  elsewhere,  till  he  came  to  Mount 
Hamilton  in  1888.  He  has  discovered 
two  comets,  made  long  series  of  merid- 


ian circle  observations  and  very  exten- 
sive calculations  concerning  asteroid 
and  comet  orbits,  and  has  done  much 
work  in  physical  and  mathematical  as- 
tronomy. His  theory  of  the  causes  of 
the  sun's  corona  was  the  text  of  a  recent 
discussion  in  the  Roval  Astronomical 

-s 

Society  of  England,  and  if  finally  accept- 
ed will  be  to  those  who  value  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  universe  more  than  the 
collection  of  its  facts,  the  most  solid  and 
important  contribution  to  science  yet 
made  by  the  Observatory.  Professor 
Schaeberle  has  just  put  forth  tentatively 
a  theory  which  seems  to  account  for  the 
"canals  "of  Mars  and  their  duplication 
with  a  rational  simplicity :  if  we  regard 
the  bright  portions  of  the  planet  as  water, 
and  the  dark  as  land,  instead  of  vice  versa 
as  at  present,  he  points  out, the  "canals" 
may  not  improbably  be  mountain  chains, 
some  of  them  parallel  chains,  as  on  the 
earth. 

Professor  Campbell  has  been  in  the 
observatory  only  a  year,  but  has  for- 
warded its  work  much  by  introducing 
the  photography  of  spectra  with  the  great 
telescope.  He  has  also  studied  the  or- 
bits of  comets,  and  published  last  year 
a  text  book  of  astronomy  for  university 
use,  which,  I  am  told,  has  been  well  re- 
ceived. He  is  a  Michigan  University 
graduate  of  1886;  was  professor  of 
mathematics  in  the  University  of  Colo- 
rado, then  succeeded  Professor  Schae- 
berle as  instructor  in  astronomy  at  Mich, 
igan  University. 

The  present  distribution  of  work 
among  these  astronomers  is  given  by  the 
official  report  as  follows  :  The  great 
telescope  is  used  for  photography  two 
nights  in  the  week,  by  Holden  and  Col- 
ton  (assistant  astronomer  and  secre- 
tary) ;  two  for  spectroscope  observations 
by  Campbell  and  Townley  (Hearst  Fel- 
low) ;  two  by  Barnard  and  Schaeberle 
for  miscellaneous  observations  ;  Satur- 
urday  night  is  given  up  to  visitors.  The 
12-inch  telescope,  the  6^-inch  telescope, 
the  comet-seeker  and  photographic  tel- 


Meyer  from  Hinuuil  nnd  Erefe,  Berlin. 


THE    GREAT     EQUATORIAL. 


494  Tlie  Lick  Astronomical  Department.  [Nov. 

escope,  are  used  by  Barnard,  and  by  eter,  is  placed  in  front  of  the  two  lenses 
others  when  not  in  use  by  him.  The  that  form  the  visual  objective,  and  the 
meridian  circle  is  in  charge  of  Professor  instrument  is  turned  into  a  great  camera. 
Schaeberle  ;  the  time  service,  of  Profes-  The  eye  end  is  provided  with  mechanism 
sor  Campbell,  but  most  of  the  work  is  by  which  the  observer  as  he  sits  can  do 
done  by  Mr.  Townley.  The  meteoro-  most  of  the  handling  necessary  ;  with  a 
logical  and  earthquake  instruments  are  micrometer,  and  a  frame  to  which  spec- 
in  charge  of  Mr.  Colton.  Professor  troscopes,  photometers,  or  enlarging 
Holden,  besides  the  general  charge  of  cameras,  can  be  attached.  The  Observ- 
the  establishment  and  of  forwarding  atory  has  besides  the  great  equatorial 
each  one's  work,  the  work  in  photogra-  a  12-inch  one,  which  occupies  the  25-foot 
phy,  and  until  Mr.  Townley  was  appoint-  dome  at  the  north  end  of  the  platform,  a 
ed  as  the  first  Hearst  Fellow,  in  spec-  6^-inch  one,  and  a  4-inch  "  comet-seek- 
troscopy,  has  most  of  the  work  of  libra-  er."  Behind  the  main  building  is  the 
rian,  the  scientific  correspondence,  and  meridian  circle  house,  which  contains  a 
the  editorial  charge  of  the  publications  fine  Repsold  meridian  circle  and  a  4-inch 
of  the  Astronomical  Society.  transit  and  zenith  telescope.  The  Ob- 
The  Observatory,  as  turned  over  to  servatory  is  besides  well  equipped  with 
the  University,  had  a  site  of  1901^  acres,  spectroscopes,  chronographs,  clocks, 
since  increased  to  2581^  acres;  this  is  meteorological  instruments,  and  corn- 
mainly  made  up  of  State  and  national  plete  earthquake  apparatus.  These 
grants,  for  most  of  the  mountain-top  buildings,  with  a  small  photographic 
was  fortunately  public  land.  One  object  laboratory,  take  up  the  leveled  space, 
in  getting  so  large  a  reservation  was  to  On  the  side  of  the  peak  a  large  brick 
guard  against  brush  fires,  by  which  the  dwelling-house  for  astronomers  finds 
buildings  at  one  time  were  threatened,  place,  reached  by  a  bridge  to  its  upper 
The  main  building  consists  of  two  story  ;  and  below,  on  the  saddle  between 
domes,  connected  by  a  hall  121  feet  long,  two  peaks  (the  mountain  has  three), 
along  the  west  side  of  which  are  study  gathers  quite  a  village  of  subsidiary  cot- 
and  work  rooms.  The  great  dome,  78  tages,  workshops,  etc.  Beyond  these  is 
feet  in  diameter,  occupies  the  south  end  a  small  dome  for  photographic  work,  the 
of  the  leveled  platform  ;  it  moves  on  the  gift,  with  its  telescope,  of  Regent  C.  F. 
top  of  a  tower,  whose  foundations  are  Crocker. 

set  deep  in  the  rock.  The  moving  parts        When  the  late  Mr.  Newall,  of  Eng- 

weigh  nearly  89  tons,  but  so  perfect  is  land,  presented  his  25-inch  refractor  to 

the  mechanism  —  operated  by  a  small  Cambridge,  his  son,  who  was  to  be  its 

water-engine  —  that  one   may   see  the  astronomer,  made  a  tour  of  the  great 

vast  concave  swing  around  at  the  pres-  observatories  of  the  world,  and  came  all 

sure  of  a  child  s  hand.  The  floor  works  up  the  way  to  California  to  study  the  equip- 

and  down  by  a  hydraulic  arrangement  ment  of  the  Lick  Observatory  and  the 

devised   by    Sir   Howard   Grubb  ;   this  mounting  of  the  great  telescope.     The 

arrangement  to  a  great  extent  takes  the  Earl  of  Rosse  visited  and  examined  it 

place  of  an  observer's  chair.     The  mon-  in  1891 ;  Professor  Auwers,  of  the  Royal 

ster  tube,  fifty-seven  feet  long,  and  four  Academy   of   Sciences   of  Berlin,   and 

feet  in  diameter  at  the  center,  is  mount-  Professor  Vogel,  Director  of  the  Pots- 

ed  here  on  an  iron  pier  thirty-eight  feet  dam  Observatory,  are  to  do  so  soon,  on 

high.     It  is  provided  with  "finders  "  of  a  tour  of  inspection  with  reference  to  a 

six,  four,  and  three  inches  in  diameter,  great  telescope  for  the  Prussian  govern- 

When  it  is   used   for  photography,  an  ment.  The  satisfaction  the  astronomers 

additional  single  lens,  33  inches  in  diam-  feel  in  showing  the  Observatory  and  its 


From  Drawings  tweiuy-fuld  enlarged  from  the  Negative  made  at  the  IJck  Observatory,  August  31, 
by  Professor  L.  Weinek    Director  of  the  Observatory  of  Prague. 


,  at  r4  h.  2/  in.,  I'. 


496                                  77ie  Lick  Astronomical  Department.  [Nov. 

equipment  to  these  competent  judges  is  a  system  and  deftness  that  is  really 
unmistakable.  It  certainly  seems,  even  wonderful  marshals  them  through  the 
to  the  guest  ignorant  of  astronomy  and  Observatory,  explaining  patiently  its 
astronomical  instruments,  a  most  intel-  leading  points,  until  far  on  in  the  night, 
ligible  satisfaction.  The  whole  place  22,496  guests  are  recorded  in  four  years, 
is  fascinating,  exceedingly,  —  the  road  -some  of  them  by  day,  to  be  sure,  when 
thither,  winding  up  from  one  stage  to  the  Observatory  is  always  open.  No 
another  of  mountain  outlook,  through  other  observatory  in  the  world  offers 
the  amazing  medley  of  loops  and  turns  such  privileges  to  visitors.  The  As- 
by  which  it  preserves  its  easy  grade,  tronomical  Society  of  the  Pacific  is  an 
mounting  at  last  and  circling  the  sides  efficient  means  of  diffusing  astronomical 
of  the  peak  itself  ;  the  fine,  firm,  digni-  interest  and  knowledge.  It  seems  to  be 
fied  building,  before  whose  broad  en-  an  unusually  vigorous  and  well-knit  or- 
trance  one  is  finally  set  down;  the  ganization,  publishes  a  bi-monthly  jour- 
shining  orderliness  and  perfection  of  nal,  skillfully  edited  to  be  of  interest  to 
everything ;  the  sense  of  being  islanded  astronomers  and  unlearned  members 
above  the  world,  the  distance  and  seclu-  alike,  has  branches  in  Eastern  States, 
sion,  and  yet  the  intimate  nearness  to  and  some  five  hundred  members  scat- 
the  whole  world  of  science  ;  the  cordial  tered  all  over  the  world.  And  in  addi- 
hospitality  of  every  one  there  ;  the  vast,  tion,  through  newspapers  and  magazines, 
dark  dome  by  night, — "as  big,"  some  full  explanations  of  the  work  and  state- 
one  with  me  said,  "  as  the  sky  looks  to  ments  of  the  general  results  reached  in 
most  people," —with  the  great  tube  the  Observatory  have  been  given  forth 
spanning  the  darkness,  directed  steadily  as  fast  as  they  reached  definable  shape, 
and  silently  against  the  sky,  like  a  power-  No  one  that  knows  much  of  the  time  and 
ful  cannon,  lying  in  wait  to  storm  its  skill  such  publication  demands  can  look 
immemorial  secrets.  over  the  quantity  that  has  been  done 

without  wonder  and  respect. 

jjj  The  Observatory   has  from  the  first 

planned  for  graduate  students  whenever 

MR.  LICK'S  deed  prescribed  that  the  the  accommodations  permitted,  and  nine 

Observatory  should  be  "  made  useful  in  in  all  have  studied  practical  astronomy 

promoting  science."     Whether  through  there ;    of   these,   five   were  professors 

the  alliance  with  the  University  or  by  from  other  institutions,  who  came  for 

Professor  Holden's  original  plan,  it  has  further  study  of  some  special  sort.     It  is 

taken    on  also  a  function  of  diffusing  the  intention  to  make  more  and  more  of 

knowledge  and  aiding  education  in  the  this  graduate  work,  and  already  no  stu- 

State.     I  do  not  know  if  any  other  great  dent  need   leave  California  to  get   the 

observatory  in  the  world  takes  on  itself  highest  training  in  astronomy.  TheHar- 

any  such  function,  at  least  to  any  such  vard  and  Washington  observatories  give 

extent.     In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  no  instruction,  and  there  is  no  reason 

surrendering  of  one  night  in  the  week  why  the  California  University  graduate 

to  visitors.     This  does  not  mean  that  a  school  should  not  become  the  source  to 

few  stray  pilgrims   make  their  way  to  which  observatories  all  over  the  country 

the  shrine  in  the  wilderness.     It  means  will  look  for  their  young  astronomers, 

that  stage  after  stage   from    San  Jose  The  director  has  been  unusually  diligent 

rolls  up, — twenty  in  a  procession,  some-  and  successful  — as  any  one  may  learn 

times, —  and  the  little  group  of  astrono-  by  an  examination  of  the  reports,  peri- 

mers  receives  with  unflinching  courtesy  odicals,  and  other  sources  of  first-hand 

the  hundreds  of  passengers,  and  with  information  available -- in  bringing  for- 


1892.] 


'1'Iu  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


497 


MARK   CRISIUM. 

From  Drawing  liy  Professor  I..  \Veinek  from  the  Negative  taken  at  the  Lick  Observatory  on  August  23,  1888. 


ward  the  younger  men  about  him  and 
making  their  successes  known  ;  and  I 
am  told  by  competent  and  disinterested 
authority  that  the  system  of  giving 
credit  to  individual  observers  in  an- 
nouncing the  results  of  the  Observatory 
work  is  very  liberal  at  Mount  Hamilton, 


as  compared  with  that  of  other  observa- 
tories. The  really  promising  young  as- 
tronomers from  the  graduate  school 
will  profit  by  this  system. 

What  has  the  Lick  Observatory  done 
thus  far  for  "  the  promotion  of  science  ?  " 
It  is  a  question  that  a  mere  onlooker 


498                                    The  Lick  Astronomical  Department.  [Nov. 

cannot  possibly  answer  except  by  a  re-  tion,  and  will  be  more  and  more  stud- 
summary  of  the  summaries  already  put  ied  :  last  summer  Professors  Schaeberle 
forth,  and  confirmed  by  the  notices  of  and  Campbell  made  some  interesting  dis- 
astronomical  periodicals  :  -  coveries  as  to  the  forms  and  motions  of 

Solar  Eclipses  of  Jan.  and  Dec.,  1889.  the  moons  ;  and  in  September  came  Pro- 

— At  the  January  eclipse  Professor  Bar-  fessor  Barnard's  famous  discovery  of  the 

nard,   and   the  Amateur   Photographic  small  inner  moon. 

Association,   more   or    less   under    his  Double  Stars. —  In  this   department 

direction,  took  many  fine  photographs  the   Lick   Observatory   has    easily  led 

of  the  corona,  which  demonstrated  the  thus  far,  and  Professor  Burnham  cata- 

existence  of    an    "extension"    of    the  logued  198  new  double  stars  there.    His 

outer  corona.    The  eclipse  of  December  resignation  will  make  the  subject  less 

was   observed   by  Professors  Burnham  prominent  in  future  work, 

and    Schaeberle,   who   went    to   South  Meridian  Observations. — These  series 

America  at  the  expense  of  Regent  C.  F.  of  observations,  carried  on  by  Professor 

Crocker.     The    photographs   of    these  Schaeberle  with  the  meridian  circle,  are 

two  eclipses  are  recognized  as  among  the  first  to  determine  the  positions  of  stars 

best   photographs   of  the   corona  ever  to  join  together  the  systems  used  in  the 

made.     Two  books  have  been  published  nautical  almanacs  of  the  different  na- 

by  the  Observatory  containing  the  re-  tions;  second,  to  determine  the  refrac- 

sults  of  these  two  eclipses.  tion  of  the  stars.     A  former  series  of 

It  was  from  their  evidence  that  Pro-  similar  observations  is  being  reduced  by 
fessor  Schaeberle  was  led  to  his  theory  computers  in  the  East,  at  the  expense 
of  the  corona,  mentioned  above.  In  of  Miss  Bruce  of  New  York,  and  Pro- 
April,  1893,  the  next  total  eclipse  of  the  fessor  Mendenhall  of  the  United  States 
sun  takes  place  ;  this  theory,  by  which,  Coast  Survey. 

if  it  is  sound,  the  general  features  of  the  Absorption  of  Photographic   Rays. — 

future  corona  can  be  noiv  foretold,  will  Professor  Schaeberle,  from  observations 

then  have  a  practical   test.      A   party  by  Professor  Campbell  and  himself,  has 

under  Professor  Schaeberle  will  go  to  determined  the  amount  of  this  absorp- 

Chile,  to  observe  the  eclipse.  tion  by  the  air  at  different  altitudes,— 

Observations  of  the  Planets  and  Sat-  a  datum  necessary  in  fixing  the  photo- 
ellites. — The  planets  have  been  steadily  graphic  magnitudes  of  stars,  and  never 
watched  and  studied,  measures  and  before  definitely  determined.  This  me- 
drawings  of  them  made,  and  enlarged  moir  is  about  to  be  published  by  the 
photographs  of  Jupiter  taken  at  regular  University  in  book  form, 
intervals,  thus  recording  all  changes  in  Comets. —  Professor  Barnard's  notable 
the  surface.  These  photographs,  taken  observations,  which  give  the  Lick  Ob- 
by  Professors  Holden  and  Campbell,  servatory  the  lead  in  this  direction,  have 
are  the  subject  of  a  paper  before  the  been  mentioned  above. 
Royal  Astronomical  Society,  by  A.  Star-Clusters  and  Nebulce  have  been 
Stanley  Williams,  who  praises  them  all  regularly  studied  and  photographed,  and 
highly,  and  says  of  one  that  it  is  perhaps  in  the  case  of  the  cluster  in  Hercules  a 
the  finest  and  most  interesting  photo-  novel  peculiarity  of  structure  has  been 
graph  of  Jupiter  ever  obtained.  Much  ascertained.  Professor  Barnard  has 
time  has  been  spent  in  examining  the  taken  some  important  photographs, 
planets  Mars,  Uranus,  and  Neptune,  in  showing  the  real  shapes  of  nebulae.  Pro- 
search  of  new  satellites.  Jupiter  has  fessor  Holden's  paper  on  Helical  Nebu- 
been  disadvantageously  situated,  but  is  las  has  been  translated  into  German,  and 
now  coming  steadily  into  better  posi-  received  with  much  consideration. 


1892.] 


Tlie  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


499 


ARCHIMEDES,    AUGUST    15, 


ARCHIMEDES,    AUGUST    2J,   l888. 


From  Dr.iwings  by  Professor  Weinek,  enlarged  ten  times  from  negatives  maile  at  the   Kick  Observatory 

in  August,  1888. 


Moon  Photographs  are  regularly  taken 
with  the  great  telescope,  and  it  is  the 
intent  to  continue  till  a  complete  set 
has  been  obtained  for  every  hour  or  so 
of  the  moon's  age.  Changes  on  the 
moon's  surface  can  thus  be  detected. 
These  photographs  have  been  mechan- 
ically enlarged  on  glass  by  Professors 
Burnham  and  Barnard,  and  they  are 
now  sent  regularly  to  Prague,  to  Pro- 
fessor Weinek,  who  makes  enlarged 
drawings  of  parts  of  the  surface,  which 
are  printed  in  heliogravure,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  Walter  Law,  of  New  York. 
These  drawings  are  studied  by  Profes- 
sor Weinek  and  Professor  Holden  with 
great  care,  and  Professor  Weinek  has 
discovered  many  new  features  in  this 
way.  Doctor  Otto  Boedicker,  astrono- 
mer of  Lord  Rosse's  observatory,  Doctor 
Ebert  of  Erlangen,  and  Doctor  Franz  of 
Koenigsberg,  are  also  making  special 
studies  of  them. 

Milky  Way.—  The  Milky  Way  also  is 
to  be  studied  by  means  of  photographs, 
which  Professor  Barnard  is  now  taking, 
attention  having  been  directed  to  the 


promise  of  excellent  results  through 
some  most  successful  ones  that  he  had 
made.  The  comet  lately  discovered 
made  its  impression  on  one  of  these 
plates,  and  was  thus  first  recognized  as 
a  stranger. 

Spectroscopy. —  Professor  Keeler  made 
some  remarkable  spectroscopic  obser- 
vations, by  which  he  established  (for 
the  first  time)  the  motions  of  nebulae  in 
the  line  of  sight.  When  Professor 
Campbell  succeeded  to  the  work,  he 
adapted  the  spectroscope  —  intended  for 
visual  observations  --  to  photographing 
spectra,  and  the  results  showed  enor- 
mous advantages  in  this  method.  To 
this  is  largely  due  the  unrivaled  success 
of  the  Lick  Observatory  in  studying 
the  new  star  in  Auriga.  The  great- 
est number  of  lines  in  its  spectrum 
reported  from  other  observations  is 
three ;  Professor  Campbell  has  meas- 
ured fourteen.  During  the  time  this 
star  was  very  faint,  the  photographic 
observations  of  the  Lick  Observatory 
were  the  only  ones  by  which  it  could  be 
followed.  They  alone  showed  its  neb- 


500 


Tke  Lick  Astronomical  Department. 


[Nov. 


ular  character,  and  since  its  extraordi- 
nary change  into  a  true  nebula,  they 
have  been  the  only  ones  that  kept  ac- 
count of  its  motions  —  showing  that  it 
has  been  moving  away  from  us,  and  is 
now  approaching,  probably  revolving  in 
a  vast  orbit  —  and  of  its  nature,  indicat- 
ing that  planetary  nebulae  owe  their  gen- 
esis to  such  new  stars;  both  most  impor- 
tant steps  in  our  knowledge  of  stars. 

A  review  of  the  publications  of  the 
Astronomical  Society  will  show  many 
minor  or  subsidiary  inquiries  going  on  at 
the  Observatory.  The  secretary's  report 
to  the  regents  shows  that  from  June, 
1888,  to  September,  1892,  there  have 
been  462  papers  published  by  the  as. 


92,  Aug.,  ucl., nil. ,15111.  P.S.T. 
W.  W.  Campbell. 


92,  Aug.,  i/  d.,  ii  h., 15  in.  P.  S.  T. 
W..J.  Hussey. 


SKETCHES   OF    MARS   SHOWING    CANALS. 

tronomers  and  students — more  than  two 
a  week.  Some  of  these  have  been  brief 
scientific  memoranda  ;  many  of  them 
long  and  arduous  papers. 

Two  things  will  be  noticed  in  looking 
through  this  summary  of  the  scientific 
work.  First,  the  great  importance  of 
the  photographic  method.  This  is  a 
new  aid  to  astronomy,  which  the  Lick 
Observatory  has  been  one  of  the  first 
to  appreciate,  and  which  it  has  un- 
rivaled facilities  for  using.  The  power 
it  gives  to  records  fleeting  phenomenon, 
to  sit  down  and  study  it  at  leisure,  and 
to  send  it  for  confirmation  to  another 
observer,  even  the  other  side  of  the 
world,  makes  it  of  inestimable  value. 
Second,  the  co-operative  relation  with 
other  observatories.  It  has  not  been 


the  general  policy  of  observatories  to 
give  out  their  results  promptly,  and  help 
each  other  in  making  use  of  them.  The 
Lick  Observatory,  by  a  division  of  labor 
that  to  some  extent  makes  it  a  gatherer 
of  raw  material,  to  be  worked  up  in 
places  where  more  help  is  available,  has 
been  of  service  to  these  other  observa- 
tories, received  great  service  from  them, 
and  hastened  the  advance  of  science,  a 
few  months  sufficing  to  have  thoroughly 
studied,  interpreted,  discussed,  and  set- 
tled, some  point  that  might  have  had 
to  wait  years,  had  each  observatory  de- 
pended on  its  own  resources.  As  has 
been  said,  if  the  four  distinguished  for- 
eign astronomers  now  engaged  in  special 
studies  of  the  moon  negatives  were  on 
the  staff  of  the  Lick  Observatory,  they 
could  hardly  utilize  its  advantages  and 
help  its  work  more. 

In  addition  to  all  the  purely  scientific 
work,  the  Observatory  regulates  the 
time  service  for  the  Pacific  States,  send- 
ing out  daily  signals  to  all  the  railroad 
stations  ;  and  several  minor  services  of 
the  sort  have  been  rendered. 

That  the  Lick  Astronomical  Depart- 
ment has  done  a  surprising  quantity  of 
work  in  the  four  years,  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned. One  is  disposed  to  think  after 
reviewing  it,  that  too  much  has  been 
done  rather  than  too  little.  The  great 
ambition  of  all  the  astronomers  to  force 
the  Lick  Observatory  instantly  into  the 
world's  front  rank,  in  spite  of  limited 
means  and  small  staff,  by  a  quantity  of 
work  that  would  demand  attention,  and 
of  such  sort  as  would  bear  the  judg- 
ment of  the  first  European  scholars  and 
societies, — this  seems  to  me  to  have 
kept  the  work  at  a  high  pressure  that 
has  told  somewhat  on  the  men.  We 
must  be  grateful,  however,  that  the  grade 
of  the  work  has  been  kept  high.  It  is 
most  easy  and  tempting  in  a  new  institu- 
tion to  make  concessions  from  an  excel- 
lence that  one's  public  will  never  miss  ; 
and  all  the  evidence  shows  that  the  Lick 
Observatory  has  not  done  this. 

Milicent  W.  Shinn. 


1892.J 


The   University  of  California. 


585 


THE   UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA.     III. 


I. 


THE  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS. 


except  in  the  case  of  the  clergy  usually 
enforced  by  law  —  for  admission  to  the 
practice  of  the  profession  ;  and  the 
THE  relation  of  professional  schools  schools  as  a  matter  of  course  give  this 
to  the  American  university  system  is  minimum  of  training,  while  the  best 
somewhat  anomalous.  They  seem  to  ones  try  to  give  something  more.  The 
form  a  group  standing  to  one  side,  with  Hastings  College  of  the  Law,  the  law 
a  different  admission  standard,  and  a  school  of  the  State  University,  finds 
different  series  of  degrees,  whose  rela-  that  about  twice  as  many  candidates 
tion  in  value  to  are  admitted 

to  the  bar  by 
the  Supreme 
Court  examina- 
tions as  by  the 
degree  of  the 
school ;  and  one 
of  its  professors 
has  published  the 
statement  that 
those  students 
who  fail  in  its 
first  year  exam- 
inations are  gen- 
erally thus  admit- 
ted shortly  after. 
The  medical 
school  has  sim- 
ilar experience. 
As  for  general 
education,  no  for- 
mal requirement 
is  made  for  ad- 
mission to  the 
practice  of  any 
profession ;  and 
has  not  been  until 
lately  in  profes- 


the  regular  uni- 
versity degrees  is 
not  clear.  It  is  a 
.university  theory, 
and  also  the  best 
tradition  of  the 
"  learned  profes- 
sions," that  the 
degree  marking 
the  entrance  to 
these  should  be 
equivalent  in  val- 
ue to  the  Ph.  D., 
as  it  is  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe: 
that  is,  that  a 
college  education 
should  precede 
the  study  of  law, 
medicine,  or  di- 
vinity, and  the 
schools  devoted 
to  these  studies 
should  be  gradu- 
ate schools.  On 
the  other  hand^ 
the  organized 

bodies  of  lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen  sional  schools.  Now,  the  medical  school 
who  control  admission  to  their  profes-  of  the  University  requires  as  preliminary 
sions,  have  to  reckon  with  a  public  senti-  to  its  courses  a  schooling  a  little  in  ad- 
ment  in  this  country  that  favors  letting  vance  of  what  would  admit  to  a  high 
any  onetry  any  calling  in  which  he  thinks  school,and  recommends  more ;  thedental 
he  can  find  customers.  The  result  is  a  school  exacts  about  the  same;  the  school 
compromise,  by  which  a  certain  amount  of  pharmacy  still  less  ;  the  law  school  re- 
of  special  training  is  required — and  quires  a  full  university  matriculation, 
VOL.  xx — 51. 


THE    LATE  JOHN    NORTON    POMEROY, 
HASTINGS   COLLEGE   OF   THE    LAW. 


586 


The   University  of  California, 


[Dec. 


such  as  would  admit  to  the  colleges  at 
Berkeley. 

The  courses  in  the  medical,  dental,  and 
pharmaceutical  schools,  therefore,  tend 
rather  to  range  themselves  parallel  with 
high  school  than  with  university  work. 


JUDGE   CHARLES    W.  SLACK, 
HASTINGS   COLLEGE   OF    THE    LAW. 


In  the  law  school,  the  student,  entering 
on  a  full  matriculation,  is  really  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  University  as  a  spe- 
cial student  who  should  take  three  years' 
full  time  at  Berkeley  in  some  single 
topic,  —  engineering,  say.  The  engineer 
would  not  be  given  a  degree  for  this 
work ;  a  four  years'  course,  in  which  the 
special  work  must  be  rounded  out  by  a 
liberal  amount  of  general  training  - 
literature,  history,  language,  science  —  is 
required,  before  the  university  will  give 
him  its  stamp.  Yet  there  is  scarcely  a 
professional  school  in  the  country  that 
requires  as  much  general  education  as 
the  Hastings  College.  The  Harvard 
law  school  calls  for  considerably  less. 

The  medical  school  of  the  University 
was  organized  with  the  provision  that 
its  standard  of  admission  and  courses  of 


study  should  be  as  high  as  in  the  medi- 
cal schools  of  Harvard  and  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  ;  but  this  has  been 
construed  to  mean  as  high  as  the  stand- 
ard of  these  schools  at  that  date,  and  is 
not  quite  equal  to  that  of  Harvard  at 
present,  nor  to  that  of  the  University  of 
Michigan.  I  have  not  compared  with 
other  leading  schools,  but  I  am  satisfied 
that  none  in  the  country  at  present 
requires  very  much  more.  There  is  a 
spirit,  however,  felt  through  all  the 
medical  profession  in  this  country,  in 
favor  of  raising  the  standard  of  medi- 
cal schools  in  general  education.  There 
is  a  national  organization  of  college-bred 
physicians,  which  exercises  a  good  influ- 
ence in  this  direction.  The  Johns 
Hopkins  University  medical  school  is 
to  be  placed  on  a  strictly  graduate  plane, 
and  a  college  education  or  its  equivalent 
will  be  expected  of  its  students.  The 
medical  school  of  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia shares  in  this  spirit,  and  holds 
before  it  as  an  immediate  desire  the 
exaction  of  two  years  in  general  study 
at  Berkeley  as  requisite  to  admission  ; 
but  while  it  has  no  revenue  except  its 
fees,  and  there  is  another  good  medical 
school  in  San  Francisco  to  which  stu- 
dents will  be  likely  to  turn  instead  of 
rising  to  meet  more  difficult  terms  of 
admission,  it  seems  to  the  faculty  im- 
possible to  take  any  very  long  upward 
step.  When  the  law  school  raised  its 
standard  of  admission,  the  numbers  fell 
off  by  half,  although  there  is  no  other 
law  school  in  the  State  to  turn  to  ;  but 
as  the  school  is  endowed,  and  charges 
no  fees  for  instruction,  it  can  afford  to 
disregard  the  question  of  numbers,  as 
the  medical  school  cannot. 

The  dental  school  was  the  third  in  the 
United  States  to  require  an  entrance  ex- 
amination at  all,  or  a  three-year  course. 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  the  profes- 
sional schools  of  the  University  fall  in 
general  education  far  short  of  the  Euro- 
pean standard,  they  only  share  the  disad- 
vantage of  professional  schools  through- 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


587 


out  this  country.    In  their  professional 
specialties,  as  far  as  they  go,   I  know 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  rank  well 
with   the  foreign.     Students  from  the 
medical   school  of  this  University  are 
given  full  credit  for  the  time  spent  in 
it,  at   the   Royal    College  of  Surgeons 
of  England,  the  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Faculty  of 
Physicians   and   Surgeons  at  Glasgow. 
Of  course,  for  more  advanced  med- 
ical study,  Americans  at  present  feel 
it  necessary  to  go  abroad  ;  but  phys- 
icians who  went  from  this  school  to 
the  great  school  of  Paris  have  told  me 
they  found  the  foundations  of  their 
education  well   and  thoroughly   laid 
here,   and  have  always  thought  the 
three  years  wisely  spent. 

Again,  the  actual  condition  of  pro- 
fessional education  throughout   this 
country  is  kept  much  higher  than  the 
legal  requirements,  or  even  the  re- 
quirements of  the  schools,  by  the  ex- 
cellent traditions  of  the  three  lead- 
ing professions,  whose  moral    influ- 
ence is  sufficient  to  make  many  stu- 
dents voluntarily  seek  a  college  educa- 
tion before  the  professional.     Thus 
the  Hastings  College  of  Law,  though 
requiring  only  a  high  school  education 
before  entrance,  had  among  96  stud- 
ents last  year  39  with  collegiate  de- 
grees.   The  medical  school,  while  re- 
quiring scarcely  more  than  a  gram- 
mar school  education,  had  among  89 
students,  n  with  collegiate  degrees. 
This  brings  about  classes  composed 
of  youths  from  the  grammar   schools, 
from   the   high    schools,    and    college- 
trained  men,  to  whom  identical  courses 
must  somehow  be  adapted  ;  but  the  an- 
omaly is  a  little   softened  by  the   age 
limit  of  eighteen  years  imposed  in  all 
the  schools. 

In  spite  of  the  difficulty  of  assimilat- 
ing them  to  the  rest  of  the  system,  law 
and  medical  schools  are  regarded  as  es- 
sential parts  of  a  full  university  scheme, 
and  divinity  schools  would  be,  but  for 


difficulties  arising  from  their  sectarian 
character.  They  represent  branches  of 
learning  too  important  to  be  ignored  by 
an  institution  whose  business  is  with 
"  all  the  great  departments  of  intellect- 
ual life."  Medical  schools  carry  along 
with  them  such  departments  as  dental 
and  veterinary  surgery,  and  pharmacy  ; 
schools  of  all  which  are  attached  to  one 
or  another  of  the  leading  universities. 


R.   BEVERLY    COI.E, 
ACTING    PRESIDENT   OF    THE    MEDICAL   FACULTY. 

There  is  now  a  tendency  to  regard  art 
schools  as  properly  adjuncts  of  a  uni- 
versity, and  several  of  the  strongest 
universities  have  affiliated  or  incorpo- 
rated such  departments.  No  one  can 
say  exactly  where  the  list  ends  of  spe- 
cial schools  that  may  properly  be  asso- 
ciated with  a  university ;  but  nothing 
marks  low  standards  more  surely  than 
a  large  and  various  fringe  of  outlying 
departments.  Probably  the  rule  in- 
stinctively observed  by  the  best  univer- 


588 


The    University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


TOLAND    HALL,  MEDICAL    DEPARTMENT. 


ROBERT    A.  MCLEAN, 
DEAN   OF   THE    MEDICAL    DEPARTMENT. 


sities  is  that  —  now  technical  education 
is  definitively  accepted  as  university 
work  —  any  professional  training  that 
involves  serious  and  continued  study, 
and  rests  on  a  basis  of  theoretic  knowl- 
edge, may  be  given  by  a  university. 

The  University  of  California  has  four 
professional  schools, —  the  Medical  De- 
partment,   commonly    known    as    the 
"Toland  College  of  Medicine,"  though 
this  is  not  its  legal  name  ;  the  College 
of  Dentistry,  organized  as  a  branch  of 
the  Medical  Department,  but  now  prac- 
tically independent ;  the  Hastings  Col- 
lege of  the   Law,  an  affiliated  college  ; 
and  the  California  College  of  Pharmacy, 
also  affiliated.     It  is  practically  settled 
that  the   California  School  of   Design 
will  soon  be  affiliated.     The  law  school 
had  last  year  a  faculty  of  4,  and  96  stu- 
dents ;  the  medical,  28  professors,  lect- 


1892.J 


The   University  of  California, 


589 


urers,  assistants,  etc.,  and  89  students  ; 
the  dental,  a  staff  of  33,  and  98  students ; 
the  pharmaceutical,  a  staff  of  9,  and  144 
students.  The  professional  faculties  do 
not  give  full  time  to  their  school  work, 
as  at  Berkeley,  but  only  such  hours  as 
may  be  spared  from  their  calling.  In 
the  College  of  Pharmacy  two  evenings 
in  the  week  constitute  the  course.  All 
these  schools  —  if  we  regard  the  College 
of  Dentistry  not  as  a  separate  school,but 
an  outgrowth  of  the  medical -- were 


schools  depend  upon  their  fees, —  $315 
for  the  three-year  course  in  the  medical 
school,  and  $65  for  a  year's  graduate 
course ;  $380  covers  all  fees  'for  the 
three-year  course  in  the  dental  school ; 
the  College  of  Pharmacy  charges  fees 
according  to  courses,  but  they  average 
about  $160  for  the  two-year  course.  The 
medical  and  pharmaceutical  schools  own 
their  buildings. 

The  medical  school  was  founded  by 
the  gift  of  its  building,  by  Dr.  H.  H.  To- 


A    DENTAL   CLINIC. 


first  separately  founded,  under  their 
own  trustees,  and  afterwards  joined 
to  the  University.  None  of  them 
receive  any  support  from  the  Univer- 
sity funds.  The  law  school,  as  men- 
tioned above,  has  its  own  endowment, — 
$100,000  paid  by  Judge  S.  C.  Hastings 
into  the  State  Treasury,  under  the 
provisions  of  a  special  act  by  which  the 
State  agreed  to  pay  annually  seven  per 
cent  upon  this  sum  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  school.  The  other  professional 


land,  in  1869,  just  after  the  founding  of 
the  University.  Doctor  Toland  appoint- 
ed his  own  board  of  trustees,  of  which 
John  B.  Felton,  a  regent  of  the  Univer- 
sity, was  president,  and  his  own  faculty, 
including  himself,  Dr.  L.  C.  Lane,  Dr. 
Henry  Gibbons,  Sr.,  and  other  leading 
physicians.  An  effort  was  made  almost 
at  once  to  transfer  the  school  to  the 
University,  with  the  cordial  approval 
of  faculty  and  trustees  ;  but  difficulties 
arose  concerning  the  terms,  and  Doctor 


590 


The   University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


Toland  withdrew  his  gift.  The  faculty 
then  resigned,  and  one  of  them,  Doctor 
Lane,  afterward  became  patron  of 
another  school,  now  the  Cooper.  In 
1873,  Doctor  Toland  renewed  the  gift 
of  the  building,  and  organized  a  new 
faculty  with  Doctor  R.  Beverly  Cole  at 
the  head  ;  and  through  the  influence  of 
Doctor  Cole  and  of  President  Oilman 


COLLEGE   OF   PHARMACY. 


the  school  was  again  offered  to  the  Uni- 
versity, this  time  as  an  unconditional 
gift,  and  was  accepted,  and  made  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  University. 
The  organic  act  of  the  University  re- 
quired the  establishment  of  colleges  of 
Medicine  and  Law  whenever  the  state  of 
funds  permitted,  and  put  these  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  colleges  at  Berke- 


ley. It  also  provided  for  the  accept- 
ance of  these  or  other  colleges,  by  gift 
as  integral  parts  of  the  University,  or 
by  affiliation.  Affiliated  colleges,  retain- 
ing their  own  boards  of  control  and 
managing  all  their  own  affairs,  are  nat- 
urally expected  to  provide  their  own 
funds,  and  there  is  now  a  distinct  pro- 
vision to  the  effect  that  they  shall  do  so, 
and  shall  be  permitted  in  lieu  of  sup- 
port from  the  University  to  charge  fees 
at  their  discretion.  The  medical  school 
was  not  affiliated,  however,  but  incor- 
porated as  an  integral  part  of  the  Uni- 
versity ;  and  as  the  regents  did  not  feel 
that  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  funds 
would  carry  a  medical  school,  it  was 
made  a  special  agreement  that  the  school 
should  receive  no  money  from  the 
University,  but  should  be  permitted  to 
charge  fees.  This  has  placed  it  practi- 
cally in  much  the  position  of  an  affiliated 
school,  and  the  regents,  while  they  real- 
ly have  the  same  control  over  its  faculty 
and  its  work  as  over  the  colleges  at 
Berkeley,  have  refrained  from  using  it, 
leaving  the  faculty  entirely  independent. 
The  feeling  within  the  medical  school  is 
that  the  time  has  come  when  it  should 
be  treated  altogether  as  an  organic 
part  of  the  University,  and  receive  its 
share  of  the  revenues.  The  regents 
have  postponed  this  completion  of  its 
organization,  feeling  unable  to  divert 
so  large  a  sum  from  the  growing  needs 
of  the  departments  already  fully  or- 
ganized and  on  their  hands,  and  hoping 
that  the  evident  merit  and  importance 
of  the  medical  school  would  attract 
special  endowments.  If  the  two  med- 
ical schools  in  the  State  could  be  con- 
solidated, it  would  not  only  release 
both  from  the  need  of  any  rivalry  for 
fees,  holding  down  the  standards  of  ad- 
mission, but  would  also  increase  the 
probability  of  endowments,  and  double 
the  force  of  the  claim  —  which  cannot 
justly  long  be  ignored  in  any  case  - 
upon  the  University  funds. 

In  1881,  the  faculty  of  the   Medical 


The   University  of  California. 


591 


Department  petitioned  the  regents  to 
establish,  as  a  branch  thereof,  a  Dental 
Department,  offering  rooms  in  its  build- 
ing for  that  purpose.  The  history  of 
this  petition  was  as  follows  : —  Since 
about  1870,  there  had  been  a  State 
Dental  Association,  whose  object  was 
to  obtain  legal  regulation  of  the  dental 
profession  ;  a  dental  school  was  felt  to 
be  necessary  before  the  entrance  to  the 
profession  could  be  guarded  by  law,  and 
the  Association  had  a  standing  commit- 
tee on  the  subject.  There  were  at  that 
time  only  about  half  a  dozen  dental 
schools  in  the  country.  One  of  the 
members  of  the  Association,  Doctor 
Cogswell,  gave  a  building  to  the  Uni- 
versity for  the  establishment  of  a  den- 
tal college,  and  one  was  nominally  or- 
ganized, but  never  put  into  operation  ; 
the  building  was  not  such  as  could  be 
used  for  the  purpose,  and  the  gift  was 
so  hampered  by  restrictions  against 
selling  or  mortgaging  that  it  was  finally 


returned  by  the  regents  to  the  donor, 
and  the  Dental  College  given  up.  The 
whole  matter  stirred  up  afresh  the 
zeal  of  the  Association,  and  Doctor  S. 
W.  Dennis,  with  some  other  members, 
asked  the  Medical  Department  to  let 
them  have  lecture  room  and  clinical 
facilities  in  Toland  Hall.  From  this  re- 
quest grew  the  petition  of  the  medical 
faculty.  It  was  granted,  and  the  Dental 
Department  established  as  a  branch  of 
the  Medical.  In  1885  the  desired  law 
was  obtained,  forbidding  the  practice  of 
dental  surgery  without  a  license  ob- 
tained on  examination,  as  in  other 
branches  of  the  medical  profession.  In 
1891,  having  outgrown  its  quarters  in 
Toland  Hall,  the  school  removed  to  sep- 
arate rooms,  and  practically  severed  its 
connection  with  the  medical  school. 

The  Medical  Department  has  just  ac- 
complished an  affiliation  with  the  San 
Francisco  Polyclinic,  which  supplies  an 
optional  fourth  year  in  its  course,  after 


After  Photo  l>y  T.il  er. 


THK    HOPKINS -SKAKI.KS    MANSION. 


592 


'/'he    University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


MAIN    HALL   IN    THE    HOPKINS-SEARLKS    MANSION. 


the  degree.  The  Polyclinic  is  primarily 
a  charity,  incorporated  in  1889  by  a 
group  of  San  Francisco  physicians,  with 
Dr.  J.  H.  Stallard  as  president,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  free  daily  clinics  to 
the  poor,  and  is  supported  by  funds 
raised  by  a  board  of  Lady  Patronesses. 
It  is  attended  by  forty-one  physicians, 
and  had  last  year  20,881  visitors.  Its 
trustees  had  long  wished  to  turn  to  ac- 
count, for  purposes  of  instruction,  the 
great  amount  of  material  at  hand,  think- 
ing that  a  purely  clinical  course,  open 
only  to  those  already  graduates  in  medi- 
cine, would  be  most  beneficial  to  the 
standards  of  the  profession  here.  An 
attempt  had  been  made  to  organize 
such  a  course,  but  it  had  failed  to  obtain 
students.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Uni- 
versity medical  school  wished  to  have  a 
graduate  year,  making  its  course  really 
four  years,  though  it  did  not  feel  able 
to  require  more  than  three  as  a  condi- 
tion of  the  degree.  Accordingly,  an 
affiliation  was  made  in  May,  1891,  ac- 
cording to  which  the  Polyclinic  retains 


its  own  management  and  its  character 
as  a  charity,  while  conducting  at  the 
same  time  the  graduate  course  of  the 
Medical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity. The  course  is  open  to  all  who 
hold  regular  medical  degrees,  but  those 
who  hold  them  from  the  University 
are  asked  but  one  third  of  the  fees. 
Among  its  advantages  will  be  a  com- 
plete apparatus  for  bacteriological  study, 
the  gift  of  R.  H.  McDonald,  now  on  its 
way  from  Berlin.  Hitherto  there  have 
been  no  facilities  of  the  sort  on  the 
Coast.  The  undergraduate  course  also 
includes  clinical  instruction,  for  which 
there  is  exceptional  chance  in  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  teaching  staff  are  also 
on  the  staff  of  the  City  and  County 
Hospital  ;  the  school  has  charge  of  sev- 
eral wards  there,  and  four  graduates 
every  year  have  the  privilege  of  appoint- 
ment as  internes.  In  this  very  impor- 
tant matter  of  clinical  teaching  a  small 
school  of  good  character  has  a  real  ad- 
vantage over  the  great  schools ;  the 
student  may  see  close  at  hand  every 


1892.]                                    Tlie   University  of  California.                                         593 

operation,   and   learn   much   by  actual  fear  it  would  overcrowd  the  profession, 

handling  ;  while  in  the  great  schools  he  Its  graduates  have  ranked  well,  although 

must  often  see  from  a  distance, —  even  all  are  still  young  ;  five  are  on  the  Supe- 

th  rough  opera  glasses,  I  am  told.  rior  bench  (all  of  these  regular  Univer- 

Immediately  after  the  Medical  De-  sity  graduates  also),  and  several  have 
partment  was  organized,  in  1873,  Pres-  been  district  attorneys, 
ident  Oilman  suggested  the  affiliation  The  circumstances  of  the  contem- 
of  a  school  of  pharmacy  which  had  been  plated  affiliation  of  the  School  of  De- 
started  the  year  before  by  the  California  sign  are  fresh  in  every  one's  mind.  Mr. 
Pharmaceutical  Society,  then  just  incor-  Searles  had  offered  to  the  school  the 
porated.  The  course  in  the  College  of  famous  Hopkins-Searles  mansion  in 
Pharmacy  is  accepted  as  equivalent  to  a  San  Francisco,  the  bequest  of  his  wife, 
year's  work  in  the  Medical  Department,  formerly  Mrs.  Hopkins.  The  house  cost 
where  seven  of  its  graduates  are  en-  perhaps  half  a  million,  and  though  the 
rolled  by  the  latest  register.  costly  furniture  has  been  removed,  is 

The  Hastings  College  of  the  Law  was  remarkable  for  the  opulence  of  its  inside 

founded  in  1878,  expressly  to  belong  to  finishings,  carving,  panelings,  and  tap- 

the  University,   although    its  founder,  estries.     The  School  of  Design  did  not 

Judge    Hastings,   preferred    to   put   it  feel  able  to  accept  a  gift  that  would  cost 

under  separate  trustees,  and  make  the  so  much  in  taxes  and  repairs  and  bring 

separate  arrangement  for  its  funds  men-  no  income, and  it  was  accordingly  offered 

tioned  above.    I  do  not  know  that  there  to  the  University  on  condition  of  the 

is  any  good  end   to  be  gained  by  this  affiliation  of  the  school.     The  offer  was 

arm's-length  sort  of  connection  which  accepted,  and  the  deeds  have  gone  for 

would   not   be  better  gained  by  a  full  signature  to  Mr.  Searles,   who  is  now 

union  ;  but  in  this  case  the  presence  of  abroad. 

so  many  of  the  University  graduates  in  The  School  of  Design  was  founded  in 
the  law  school  makes  the  connection  in  1873  by  the  San  Francisco  Art  Associa- 
feeling  close.  It  was  the  effort  of  the  tion,  which  was  itself  founded  two  years 
trustees  of  this  school  to  exclude  from  earlier  by  a  group  of  artists  and  news- 
it  two  women,  on  the  ground  of  their  paper  men.  Colonel  Avery,  at  one  time 
sex,  that  brought  about  the  Supreme  editor  of  the  OVERLAND,  and  Noah 
Court  decision  which  fixed  the  status  Brooks,  one  of  its  earliest  contributors, 
of  affiliated  schools  as  parts  of  the  Uni-  were  in  this  group ;  J.  B.  Wandesforde 
versity.  It  is  to  the  effect  that  all  reg-  was  first  president  of  the  Association, 
illations  of  the  University  not  expressly  and  Virgil  Williams  director  of  the 
excepted  in  the  articles  of  affiliation  are  school  from  its  foundation  till  his  death, 
binding  upon  affiliated  schools.  In  ac-  There  are  now  five  teachers,  Arthur  F. 
cordance  with  this  decision  two  or  three  Mathews  at  the  head.  The  school  has 
women  have  graduated  from  the  law  been  entirely  dependent  on  its  fees  and 
school,  and  one  is  now  studying  there.  the  membership  dues  of  the  Association, 

A  home  law  school  is  felt  by  the  Cal-  and  has  no  important  property  except  a 
ifornia  bar  to  be  especially  important,  fine  set  of  antique  casts,  the  gift  oS  the 
because  law  learned  elsewhere  does  not  French  government,  through  Pietro 
prepare  for  practice  under  the  California  Mezzara,  then  a  leading  sculptor  of  Cal- 
constitution  and  codes,  and  the  school  ifornia.  That  it  has  given,  in  spite  of 
has  always  been  looked  on  with  a  good  meager  facilities,  a  thorough  element- 
deal  of  interest  and  consideration ;  ary  training  seems  evident  from  the 
though  one  of  its  professors  speaks  of  a  good  standing  its  graduates  have  taken 
"stupid  opposition"  formerly  felt,  for  in  Paris  and  elsewhere.  By  the  proposed 
VOL.  xx— 52. 


594 


University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


terms  of  affiliation  it  will  keep  its  board 
of  directors  and  the  entire  management 
of  its  funds  and  its  course  of  study ; 
the  regents  are  to  give  certificates  upon 
recommendation  of  the  faculty.  The 
school  is  to  have  such  occupancy  of  the 
building  as  it  needs  for  purposes  of  fine 
art.  It  covets  the  stable  as  its  head- 
quarters, on  account  of  the  north  light ; 
the  lower  floor  will  be  especially  adapted 
to  modeling, also.  An  art  museum,  occu- 
pying one  floor  of  the  mansion  itself,  is 
also  talked  of,  but  the  school  does  not 
yet  possess  the  contents  for  such  a 
museum.  The  regents,  on  their  part, 
expect  also  to  use  the  building  as  head- 
quarters for  Extension  lectures,  and  for 
their  own  meetings. 


II. 


THE   ACCREDITING   SYSTEM,   AND  EXTEN- 
SION   WOEK. 

In  its  relation  to  the  public  school  sys- 
tem the  University  of  California  is  be- 
comingespecially  strong,  —stronger  than 
any  other  great  university  except  that  of 
Michigan,  whose  method  it  has  followed 
in  the  main.  The  University  of  Michi- 
gan was  founded  as  part  of  a  comprehen- 
sive plan  of  State  education,  embra 
cing  every  thing,  from  lowest  to  highest, 
as  in  the  Prussian  system,  by  which  it 
was  inspired.  The  definite  connection 
between  high  school  and  university 
was  not  supplied,  however,  until  1870, 
when  a  sort  of  voluntary  and  unofficial 
relation,  corresponding  to  the  official 
one  between  the  German  gymnasia  and 
universities,  was  established  in  the 
"  diploma  system." 

The  essence  of  this  system  is  the 
admission  of  graduates  from  certain 
accredited  schools,  upon  their  diplomas, 
without  examination.  It  is  not  exactly 
promotion  from  high  school  to  univer- 
sity, as  from  one  grade  to  another  in 
the  same  school  ;  but  it  is  in  effect  a 
good  deal  the  same  thing,  only  under 
such  safeguards  as  surround  no  other 


promotion  in  the  whole  school  system. 
The  system  has  been  adopted  in  Illi- 
nois, and  attempted,  in  imperfect  form 
and  without  much  success,  by  Cornell, 
Amherst,  and  Williams.  The  "  Regents' 
Examination  "  in  New  York  is  a  system 
somewhat  akin.  The  Stanford  Univer- 
sity accepts  high  school  certificates  at 
its  discretion,  but  has  no  regular  ac- 
crediting system.  In  California  it  has 
had  an  independent  development,  not 
following  strictly  that  of  Michigan ;  nor 
does  it  owe  its  origin  altogether  to 
Michigan.  For  ten  years  before  it  was 
adopted,  there  was  talk  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  bringing  about  a  better  co-opera- 
tion with  the  high  schools,  and  efforts 
were  made  through  conference  with  the 
high  school  teachers  to  influence  and 
help  the  preparatory  work.  During 
that  decade,  however,  the  high  schools 
were  by  the  new  constitution  cut  out 
from  the  State  public  school  system, 
and  were  experiencing  a  period  of  great 
discouragement.  Nothing  was  really 
accomplished  till  the  end  of  1883 ;  a 
plan  of  accrediting  was  then  decided 
on  that  closely  followed  that  of  Michi- 
gan,—  whether  actually  taken  from  it, 
or  from  the  same  German  sources,  no 
one  seems  to  remember  clearly  ;  prob- 
ably from  both,  and  from  the  obvious 
demand  of  the  local  situation  as  well. 
It  was  formally  adopted  by  faculty  and 
regents  in  the  spring  of  1884. 

The  substance  of  the  system  is  as 
follows  :  —  The  University  notifies  all 
preparatory  schools  that  such  as  request 
it  will  be  visited  and  examined  on  the 
quality  of  teaching  by  a  committee  from 
the  University,  and  if  found  satisfactory 
will  be  granted  the  privilege  of  entering 
its  graduates  without  examination.  The 
visiting  and  examining  of  the  school  is 
in  some  ways  more  thorough  here  than 
anywhere  else.  In  the  first  place,  in- 
stead of  sending  one  examiner,  to  look 
into  the  merits  of  the  school  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  the  University  -  -  as  soon  as  a 
request  has  been  received  for  examina- 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


595 


tion,and  it  has  been  shown  by  sched- 
ules of  studies  and  sample  examination 
papers   forwarded  that    the   school    is 
really   trying  to   cover  the   ground  of 
University    preparation -- sends    from 
time  to  time  representatives  of  all  de- 
partments, who  remain  it  may  be  a  whole 
day  listening  to  the  instruction,  perhaps 
taking  a  class,  examining  records  and 
papers,  conferring  with   teachers,  prin- 
cipal, and   trustees,  and   in   every  way 
getting  the  fullest  attainable  idea  of  the 
status  of  the  school,  each  one  as  to  his 
own  department.     Upon    bringing    to- 
gether the  reports  of  these  various  visit- 
ors it  is  determined  whether  the  school 
may  be  accredited  or  not.  Nowhere  else 
in  the  country  is  any  such  searching  ex- 
amination given  the  school :  a  committee 
of  one,  or  at  most  of  two,  visits  and  re- 
ports ;  or,  perhaps,  at  need  some  com- 
petent  person    unconnected   with   the 
University   is    authorized   to  examine. 
Moreover,  in  California  the  accredited 
status  must  be  renewed  annually  ;   in 
Michigan  it  lasts  for  three  years,  unless 
some  material  change  in  the  course  of 
studies  or  teaching  corps  of  the  school 
takes  place.     This  greater  vigilance  in 
California,  however,  may  not  mean  any 
real  superiority  in  thoroughness,  for  in 
Michigan   the    University    deals    with 
strong  schools  of  established  standards, 
manned  largely  by  its  own  graduates ; 
here,  the  work  is  largely  of  building  up 
and  setting  standards. 

The  examination  is  by  no  means  a 
mere  form,  and  schools  have  been  re- 
jected more  than  once  or  twice.  Since 
1888-89  a  school  may  be  accredited, 
however,  for  one  only  of  the  four  differ- 
ent matriculation  examinations  by  which 
different  courses  in  the  University  are 
entered.  Usually  they  prepare  for  three, 
—  which  means  that  the  high  school 
does  not  afford  teaching  in  Greek,  and 
consequently  cannot  prepare  for  the 
classical  course.  Of  31  schools  this 
year,  1 1  only  are  fully  accredited  ;  6 
prepare  for  but  two  courses  ;  the  rest 


for  all  but  the  classical.  Since  1891,  a 
school  may  be  accredited  in  one  or  more 
subjects,  though  failing  to  offer  any 
whole  course  satisfactorily  ;  14  of  the  31 
schools  are  accredited  in  this  limited 
way.  When  the  school  is  examined  sub- 
ject by  subject,  and  teacher  by  teacher, 
as  it  is,  it  gives  no  more  trouble  to  the 
University  to  accredit  in  this  partial 
way,  beyond  a  little  more  book-keeping  ; 
and  it  serves  as  a  strong  stimulus  to  the 
deficient  departments  to  pull  up  to  the 
level  of  the  others. 

Besides  the  diploma  of  an  accredited 
school,  a  candidate  must  bring  a  special 
recommendation  from  the  principal  in 
order  to  be  exempt  from  examination. 
The  conditions  of  recommendation  to 
the  University  are  understood  to  be 
more  severe  than  those  of  graduation 
even  from  the  best  schools.  Nor  are 
principals  likely  to  become  lax  in  giving 
these  recommendations,  for  the  renewal 
of  the  accrediting  depends  not  only 
upon  the  annual  examination,  but  also, 
and  as  much,  upon  the  record  made  in 
the  University  by  the  recommended 
graduates  of  the  previous  year.  In 
one  case  a  school  lost  its  accredited 
rank  through  careless  recommendations 
given  by  the  principal.  Still  farther  to 
lessen  the  danger  of  a  point's  being 
strained  to  recommend  a  boy  who 
deserves  it  in  most  respects  but  not  in 
all,  a  principal  is  permitted  since  last 
year  to  recommend  with  exceptions,  and 
the  candidate  is  required  to  pass  exam- 
ination on  the  excepted  study  only. 

Thus  there  has  grown  up  a  complete 
system  of  inspection,  examination,  and 
report  upon  the  schools  throughout  the 
State,  more  guarded,  and  yet  more  flexi- 
ble and  stimulating  to  the  schools,  than 
exists  in  any  other  State.  Out  of  it  has 
grown  a  supplementary  system  of  visit- 
ing,—  even  where  the  formal  examina- 
tion is  not  asked, —  with  advice  and  sug- 
gestion. This  has  come  spontaneously 
into  existence  in  the  last  three  years,  as 
an  outcome  of  the  cordiality  of  relation 


596                                        The   University  of  California.                                       [Dec. 

the  schools  have  come  to  hold  toward  it  has  been  the  Cinderella  of  the  school 

the  University,  and  the  growing  sense  system. 

of  .dependence  on  its  advice,  and  desire  The  University  test  has  supplied  the 
for  its  verdict  as  to  their  work.  The  schools  a  standard  which  they  could  not 
University  not  only  stands  ready  to  visit  possibly  have  had  in  any  other  way,  and 
and  advise  in  the  organization  of  a  high  the  accrediting  is  earnestly  sought,  and 
school,  or  the  possibility  of  bringing  one  .  teachers  are  sifted  and  changed  with 
to  accredited  grade  in  future,  but  makes  reference  to  it.  It  is  not  that  the  ex- 
it now  its  business  to  take  the  initiative  emption  from  examination  is  so  great  a 
in  a  systematic  attempt  to  have  knowl-  thing  to  obtain,  for  the  boy  or  girl  that 
edge  of  all  the  secondary  schools  of  the  deserves  the  exemption  does  not  need 
State,  to  make  direct  acquaintance  with  to  fear  the  examination;  but  that  the 
all  as  opportunity  offers,  and  to  keep  up  accrediting  fixes  the  status  and  merit  of 
a  living  relation  between  the  university  the  school.  Principals  who  know  they 
and  high  school  stage  of  education.  It  are  doing  good  work  wish  it  attested  to 
was  this  visiting  system  that  President  their  trustees,  and  trustees  suspect  some- 
Eliot,  after  examining  its  workings  on  thing  wrong  when  neighboring  schools 
his  recent  visit  to  California,  adopted  obtain  the  guarantee  and  their  own  does 
for  the  use  of  Harvard.  not  seek  it.  To  lose  this  certificate  of 
In  all  this  there  is  no  assumption  of  what  may  be  called  standard  high  school 
authority,  for  it  is  purely  voluntary,  rank,  once  gained,  is  a  serious  matter, 
But  in  a  spontaneous  way,  and  by  -and  an  instance  has  been  known  in 
mutual  consent,  it  supplies  in  a  consid-  which  a  great  city  high  school  reorgan- 
erable  degree  that  supervision  of  the  ized  its  force  rather  than  meet  such 
schools  from  the  universities,  instead  a  discredit.  Even  political  influence 
of  from  the  public  that  Matthew  Arnold  weakens  in  its  power  to  uphold  an 
says  (in  a  very  important  article  in  the  incompetent  teacher  in  face  of  it,  for 
Century  Magazine?)  makes  the  lower  severe  popular  disapproval  might  be 
schools  of  the  Continent  alive  to  the  provoked  by  the  loss  of  standing  for  the 
bottom,  where  those  of  America  and  school.  The  University  has  nothing  to 
England  are  dead.  Its  effect  on  the  say  anywhere  on  the  choice  of  teach- 
schools  has  been  wonderful.  Three  ers  :  it  simply  reports  on  the  quality 
were  fully  accredited  the  first  year,  11  of  the  teaching  when  asked;  and  now 
this  year,  besides  20  partly  accredited,  that  so  many  schools  are  accredited,  it 
In  1888  the  privilege  was  extended  to  is  impossible  for  the  authorities  of  any 
private  schools,  and  seven  of  these  are  prominent  one  to  avoid  asking. 
on  the  list,  leaving  24  free  high  schools  As  an  instance  of  the  value  attached 
preparing  fully  or  in  part  for  college,  this  report,  it  was  related  to  me  that  to 
where  8  years  ago  scarcely  half  a  dozen  when,  some  years  ago,  the  school  board 
made  any  attempt  These  numbers  are  of  a  small  inland  city  was  surprised  by 
small  by  those  of  the  "approved"  the  University  examiners  with  the  in- 
schools  of  Michigan,—  54,  besides  37  in  formation  that  its  little  high  school  was 
neighboring  States,  over  which  the  the  best  on  their  list,  and  published  the 
Michigan  University  now  extends  the  news  with  some  elation,  the  examiners 
privilege;  but  the  system  has  been  in  op-  promptly  received  appeals  and  com- 
eration  almost  twenty-two  years  there,  plaints  from  the  large  schools ;  and  the 
nearly  three  times  as  long  as  in  Califor-  little  school  was  soon  stripped  of  all  its 
nia,  and  I  judge  that  even  before  1870  three  teachers,— two  called  to  larger  po- 
secondary  education  had  been  better  sitions,  one  to  opportunities  for  further 
cared  for  in  Michigan  than  here,  where  study,—  an  unfortunate  result  for  the 


1892.]                                   The   University  of  California.                                           597 

school  itself,  but  in  the  line  of  the  gen-  sible  attainment  unthought  of  before, 

eral     advancement     of    education.     In  sometimes   changes  a  life.      President 

another  case,  a  community  was  grudg-  Angell  says  that  this  impulse  given  to 

ingly  supporting,   by   vote  of  a    small  the  high  schools  goes  down  through  all 

majority,  anew  school,  and  by  no  means  the  lower  grades,  and  imparts  an  aspira- 

certain    to     maintain    its     thoroughly  tion   and   energy  to   the  whole  school 

competent    principal    against    a    local  system.    The  university,  too,  he  points 

favorite  who    wished   the    place.     The  out,  is  bettered,  not  only   by  receiving 

school     had     not     yet    the     advanced  more  and  better  students,  but  also  by 

classes  that  would  justify  a  request  for  being  kept  in  touch  with  a  large  region 

accrediting,   but   some    of    its    friends  of  sociology  that  universities  sometimes 

asked  the  University  to  send  a  represen-  neglect. 

tative  to  visit  and  report  on  it  on  general  A  second  means  of  alliance  with  the 

principles.      The    University   cordially  schools  is  the  appointment  of  a  profes- 

responded  to  this,  and  to  a  later  request  sor  of  pedagogics, —  whose  special  topic 

for  a  speaker  on  a  public  day  connected  is   school   education.     The    University 

with   the   school;  and  the  community,  has  been  somewhat  late  in  this,  though 

surprised  and  pleased  to  find   the  un-  such  a  department  was  remotely  planned 

pretending  little    institution   many    of  for  here  almost  as  soon  as  one  existed 

them  had  thought  scarcely  worth  foster-  anywhere  in  the  country.     In  Eastern 

ing  valued   and   praised   by  wise  men  universities  the  pedagogical  work  con- 

from   afar,  gave   in   the    next   election  cerns  itself  mainly  with  the  scientific 

their  hearty  support  to  school  and  prin-  study  of  the  subject ;  but  in  State  uni- 

cipal,  and  shouldered  cheerfully  a  con-  versities  a  good  deal  of  active  relation 

siderable  tax  for  a  schoolhouse.  with   the  lower  schools  is  added  to  it. 

In  other  cases,  perhaps   in   many  at  In  the  University  of  California  this  new 

the  beginning,  the  visiting  committees  department  does  not  lessen  the  work  of 

have  doubtless  met  much   antagonism  the  visiting  and  examining  committees, 

and  distrust  toward  the  University  ;  but  but  supplements  it.     The  professor  of 

it  has  always   disappeared  on  acquaint-  pedagogics  is  often  sought  as  a  speaker 

ance  with  the  real  character  and  work  at  teachers'  institutes ;  and  as  there  are 

of  the  institution.   Ten  years  ago  it  was  fifty-three  of  these  annually  in  Califor- 

no   recommendation   to   school   boards  nia  a  really  heavy   demand  is  likely  to 

that   a  candidate   held   the  University  be  made    on   him    among   them.     His 

degree,  and  college  graduates  were  not  regular    business    in    the     University 

expected  to  make  up  the  staff  of  a  high  is   with   professional  instruction, —  not 

school  to  any  extent, —  at  least,  not  col-  Normal    School   training,   but  still  in- 

lege  women.     The  regular  path  to  high  struction  looking  directly  to  the  prepar- 

school  positions  in  the  cities  was  by  pro-  ation  of  the  student  for  the  work  of  a 

motion  on  account  of  success  in  gram-  teacher  or  superintendent  of  education, 

mar  school  work.    Now,  each  year  finds  This  is  properly  graduate  work.     If  the 

University   graduates   more  and  more  student  takes  part  of  his  undergradu- 

sought,  for  high  school  positions  espe-  ate  course  to  prepare  himself  for  the 

cially.  work  of  a  teacher,  it  robs  him  of  that 

Besides  the  use  to  teachers  and  com-  much  time  for  the  general  education  he 

munity,  these  visits  from  the  Univer-  will  never  have  an  uninterrupted  chance 

sity  and  the  sense  of  connection   with  to  get  again  in  his  life.     Just  as  much 

it    have  an   incalculable   effect  on  the  as  a  man  or  woman  who  desires  to  take 

pupils.     At  that  age  a  mere  glimpse  of  the  highest  rank  as  a  physician  plans  to 

something  higher  and  beyond,  of  a  pos-  give  three  years  to  professional  work 


598 


The   University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


after  completing  his  college  course,  one 
who  really  appreciates  the  demands  of 
the  schoolroom  should  plan  for  a  special 
training  on  as  high  a  level.     In  no  other 
way  can  the  long-talked-of  "  elevation 
of  teaching  to  the  rank  of  a  profession  " 
take  place.     It  is  a  cherished  hope,  also, 
of   students  of  common  school  educa- 
tion,  to   see   school  superintendencies, 
State,  and  county,  and  city,  come  to  be 
regarded  as  callings  peculiarly  belong- 
ing to  special  students  of  educational 
affairs,  and  properly  to  be  looked  for- 
ward to  by  young  men  of  ability  when 
they  seek  advanced  graduate  training  in 
the  subject.   If  three  years  of  graduate 
work,   is  hardly  to  be  hoped  for  as  a 
preliminary  to  a  profession  of  so  small 
emoluments,   one  year  at  least,  might 
be  urged  on  graduates  who  look  to  high 
school  teaching     Meanwhile,  the  Uni- 
versity authorities  have  judged  it  best 
to  give  instruction  on  common  school 
education  among  undergraduate  studies  ; 
and  certainly  some  knowledge  of  the 
subject  belongs  to  what  every  educated 
person  should  know. 

Still  another  link  between  the  two 
grades  of  education  is  in  the  special 
Teachers'  Courses  that  have  for  years 
been  growing  into  more  and  more  im- 
portance at  Berkeley,  until  now  Satur- 
day is  largely  given  up  to  them,  and 
considerable  bodies  of  teachers  from  the 
neighboring  cities  and  villages  come  in 
to  one  or  another  lecture  or  seminary, 
especially  adapted  for  their  uses.  Some 
of  this  work  is  pedagogical  in  its  nature, 
professors  in  one  and  another  depart- 
ment giving  instruction  on  the  method 
of  elementary  teaching,  each  in  his  spe- 
cialty ;  oftener  they  are  the  regular  un- 
dergraduate work,  so  arranged  that  it 
can  be  followed  in  weekly  classes.  Some 
of  the  evening  sessions  of  literary,  scien- 
tific, or  philosophical  organizations  are 
quite  largely  attended  by  listeners,  or 
even  members,  from  Oakland  or  San 
Francisco. 


This  is  University  Extension  in  all 
except  that  the  students  come  to  the 
classes  instead  of  the  classes  going  to 
them.  Last  year,  regular  Extension 
courses  were  begun  in  the  two  neigh- 
boring cities. 

University  men  everywhere  differ  as 
to  the  advisability  of  this  Extension 
work,  whose  great  advocate  in  this  coun- 
try is  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  English  idea  of  taking  to  remote 
towns  the  opportunity  for  some  real 
university  work,  which  must  be  of  a 
serious  and  systematic  character,  such 
as  to  rank  up  to  a  certain  point  with  the 
work  done  in  residence,  is  one  thing, 
and  the  system  of  popular  lectures  to- 
ward which  it  easily  degenerates  among 
us  is  another.  There  is  no  question 
that  the  Extension  lectures  of  the  Uni- 
versity have  been  successful,  as  lectures. 
Last  year  there  was  an  average  attend- 
ance of  40  at  lectures  on  historical  and 
comparative  English  grammar,  40  in 
mathematics,  100  in  ethics,  250  in  his- 
tory (these  in  Los  Angeles),  and  400  in 
Shakespeare  criticism.  Of  these  830 
listeners,  some  60  entered  for  examina- 
tion, and  39  passed,  and  received  certif- 
icates, which  entitled  them  to  a  certain 
amount  of  credit  for  undergraduate 
work,  should  they  ever  become  students 
at  Berkeley.  A  limited  amount  of  home 
study  is  expected  of  those  regular  at- 
tendants upon  the  lectures  who  propose 
to  pass  examination,  and  each  lecture  is 
supplemented  with  questioning,  explana- 
tion, and  discussion, —  sometimes  the  ex- 
amination and  criticism  of  papers, —  so 
that  to  the  fraction  who  take  the  cpurse 
as  real  students  its  educational  vafue  is 
unquestionable. 

Whether  these — about  one  tenth 
of  the  whole  attendance  in  Oakland 
and  San  Francisco —  might  not  have 
managed  to  hear  the  one  lecture  a 
week  in  Berkeley  with  as  little  trouble 
as  it  cost  the  lecturer  to  come  to 
them  may  be  questioned.  As  far  as 
definite  educational  results  are  con- 


1892.]  The   University  of  California.  599 

earned,  it  is  rather  a  large  apparatus  for  has  kept  itself  very  free  from  this  sort 
comparatively  small  results.     But  there  of  degeneration.    It  has  been  conserva- 
are  other  justifications   for   the  work,  tive  about  issuing  publications,  in  the 
For  one  thing,  the  lectures  and  classes  absence   of    such    important    graduate 
in  cities  within  easy  reach  of  the  Uni-  work  and  research  as  might  make  these 
versity  are  a  test  and  a  school  for  work  of   unquestioned  merit  throughout  the 
in  more  distant  ones.  For  another,  they  university  world.    It  has  been  shy  of  the 
help  to  make  the  University  known  to  press,  partly  through   unpleasant   past 
the  public.  experience.     It   carries  this   particular 
This  is  a  motive   the   University  of  conservatism  so  far,  indeed,  as  to  amount 
California  —  perhaps  because  of  its  Yale  to  a  neglect  to  take  its  real  place  in  the 
ancestry --has  always  looked   on  with  eyes  of  the  public.     One  finds  in  jour- 
caution.     It  savors  of  advertising  meth-  nals  where  regular  reports   are  given 
ods,  and  of  the  cheapening  that  befalls  from   the  colleges   of   the   country   no 
an  institution  of  learning  too  anxious  mention  of  the  University  of  California, 
to  be  "  known."     To  be  trying  to  show  though  institutions  of  perhaps  one  fifth 
itself  to  the  best  advantage  and   plan-  the  wealth  and  standing  are  heard  from 
ning  for  public  approval,  is  a  danger-  regularly.      Books    or  magazines   that 
ous  step  toward   losing  that  solid   and  publish  popular  articles  on  representa- 
assured  honesty  that  a  university  must  tive  colleges  of  the  country  receive  no 
have  if  anything  on  earth  is  to  have  it.  reminder  from  this  one  that  it  belongs 
Yet   on    the   other  hand,  an  American  in  the  number.     The  bent  and  tradition 
university,  a  private  foundation  scarcely  of    the    University   seems   therefore  a 
less  than  a  State  one,  depends  upon  the  guarantee  that  the  Extension  work  will 
people ;  and  while  it  must  not  court  their  not  be  managed  in  an  advertising  spirit, 
favor  by  any  betrayal  of  their  interests  nor  carried  to  an  excess, 
in  the  way  of  lowering  standards,  neith- 
er has  it  a  right  to  too  close  a  seclusion.  III. 
To  distribute  its  regular  official  state- 
ments and  hold  its  books  open  to  inspec-        IN   closing  these   articles   upon   the 
tion  is  not  enough  :  in  some  way  it  must  State   University,   which  have  length- 
reach  the  people  to  give  them  knowl-  ened  beyond  my  wish  or  intention,  I 
edge  of  what  it  really  is  and  is  doing,  must  first  make  a  few  corrections.  Two 
How  delicate  and  difficult  a  line  of  be-  are  as  to  small  points  of  fact,  which  I 
havior  a  university  must  draw  to  do  this  take  the  time  to  mention  only  in  the 
effectively,  and  yet  sacrifice  nothing  of  interest  of  accuracy.     Mr.  Willey  'did 
a  sturdy  reliance  upon  the  fact  of  its  not,    as    I    said,    leave   New   York  in 
work  rather  than  the   appearance,  one  advance  of  the  first  steamer  to  Panama 
may  realize  by  watching  the  behavior  of  and  join  it  at  New  Orleans,  but  sailed 
the  various    American   universities   in  from  New  York  on  that  steamer,  which 
this   respect,  —  Yale,  Columbia,   Johns  started,  with  its  four  young  clergymen, 
Hopkins,   Harvard,  Pennsylvania,   Chi-  before  the  news  of  the  discovery  of  gold, 
cago,  say.     Extension  lectures,  publica-  Doctor  Durant  did  not  die  at  the  Berke 
tion  of  books  and  monographs,  and  pop-  ley  Club,  where  he  was  to  have  spoken  of 
ular   presentation   of    results    through  the  "Good  Time  Coming,"  but  was  tak- 
the  press,  are  the  legitimate  and  usual  en  ill  there,  and-died  next  day.     A  third 
methods,  and  there  is  not  one  of  them  error,  which  doubtless  corrected  itself 
that  is  not  liable  to  a  certain  degenera-  to  readers  by  its  absurdity,  was  the  care- 
tion  in  the  way  of  trying  to  make  a  good  less   copying  down   of  the  number  of 
showing.     The  University  of  California  tons  of  rock  —  72,000  —  removed  from 


600 


Tlie   University  of  California. 


[Dec. 


the  crest  of  Mount  Hamilton  to  get 
standing  room  for  the  Observatory,  as 
72 !  —  a  sort  of  error  that  fairly  flaunts  in 
a  writer's  face  the  temptation  to  say  the 
printer  did  it.  I  may  have  committed 
other  inaccuracies  ;  but  my  attention  has 
been  called  to  no  others. 

I  have  been  criticised,  however,  for 
the  statement  that  the  University  is 
"  weakest  on  the  side  of  pure  science," 
and  not  unjustly,  for  the  phrasing  is 
misleading.  The  sentence  occurs  in  a 
rather  hasty  and  cursory  glance  over 
the  present  status  of  the  University, 
which  closes  an  article  intended  to  be 
primarily  a  story  of  origins ;  but  it  should 
none  the  less  have  been  more  carefully 
worded.  It  was  far  from  my  meaning 
to  say  that  the  instruction  on  this  side 
is  weak,  or  even  less  strong  than  in 
other  directions.  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe  that  some  of  the  best  work 
in  the  University  is  done  in  pure  sci- 
ence. But  the  organization  and  equip- 
ment of  the  University  are  weak  on  this 
side.  Certain  subjects,  indeed, —  math- 
ematics, physics,  and  chemistry  in 
especial  —  have  full  place  in  the  sched- 
ules, a  staff  of  teachers  in  proportion 
to  other  departments,  excellent  labora- 
tories, and  adequate  attention  in  every 
way  ;  and  this  because  they  were 
regarded  at  the  outset  as  supplying  the 
theoretic  basis  on  which  several  indus- 
trial sciences  rest.  Each  of  the  three 
has  in  fact  developed  quite  beyond  this 
limited  purport,  and  I  was  in  error  in 
saying  that  the  College  of  Chemistry  is 
given  up  to  industrial  chemistry  :  on  the 
contrary,  assaying,  analysis  of  soils,  and 
the  like,  are  relegated  to  the  Colleges 
of  Mines  and  Agriculture,  where  they 
belong. 

These  sciences,  with  astronomy,  make 
up  what  I  may  call  an  "exact  science" 
group,  and  the  others,  geology,  mineral- 
ogy, zoology,  physiology,  botany,  may 
be  grouped  for  want  of  a  better  term 
as  "natural  history"  sciences.  The 
University  forces  are  thus  divided  :  — 


Technical  Science 19  instructors,  35  courses 

Exact  Sciences 15  "          48        " 

Language  and  Literature.  ..14  "          87        " 

Sociology  and  Philosophy  ..  10  "  33        " 

Natural  History  Sciences..   7  "  17       " 

The  largest  force  in  a  single  branch  is  in 
Agriculture.  In  the  Stanford  Univer- 
sity, out  of  a  faculty  somewhat  smaller, 
the  technical  sciences  have  12  men,  the 
exact  science  group  10,  and  the  natural 
history  group  9 ;  with  a  good  deal  more 
pro-vision  of  laboratories  and  museums 
than  in  Berkeley.  Harvard,  out  of  a 
faculty  not  twice  as  large  as  that  of 
Berkeley,  has  more  than  three  times 
as  many  men  in  natural  history ;  and 
the  Chicago  University  announcements 
also  make  that  group  of  sciences  prom- 
inent. Michigan  University,  however, 
gives  them  less  place  than  is  given 
here;  and  I  do  not  think  that  they 
have  hitherto  had  much  attention,  on 
the  whole,  in  systematized  instruction 
in  this  country.  The  University  of 
California  is  not  so  much  behind  other 
institutions  in  its  provision  for  them, 
as  behind  its  own  in  other  departments. 
Two  years  ago,  they  had  the  services 
of  but  three  men  in  the  faculty.  At 
present,  their  most  serious  disadvan- 
tage, which  they  share  with  all  the  sci- 
ences, except  chemistry,  outside  of  the 
technical  courses  is  that  the  arrange- 
ment of  courses  tells'  somewhat  against 
their  election  by  students  looking  for- 
ward to  a  degree.  As  I  have  said,  the 
system  of  "  colleges  "  fixed  in  the  State 
constitution  is  somewhat  cumbrous.  It 
protects  the  University  against  any  dan- 
gerous alteration  of  its  general  plan  by 
legislatures,  but  it  also  makes  it  hard 
to  keep  the  expanding  and  increasing 
courses  free  and  flexible.  The  regents 
have  now  under  consideration  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  "college,"  which 
would  not  be  bound  by  any  constitu- 
tional regulation,  and  could  with  entire 
freedom  provide  for  all  courses  not  other- 
wise provided  for.  Even  now,  by  a  com- 
bination of  choice  of  courses,  and  of  elec- 


1892.] 


The   University  of  California. 


601 


tion  within  each  course,  the  student  has 
great  freedom  of  choice  in  studies ;  and 
if  the  arrangement  now  talked  of  be 
carried  out,  he  will  have  as  perfect  free- 

Idom  as  any  but  the  most  radical  believ- 
ers in  electives  could  ask. 
To  summarize: — We  have  thus  the 
University,  built  up  of  :  — 
I.  The  College  of  California,  a  pio- 
neer classical  college,  created  chiefly  by 
New  England  men,  largely  under  Yale 
influence,  and  now  represented  by  the 
classical  course  of  the  College  of  Let- 
ters, and  by  a  certain  spirit  of  liberal 
learning  throughout  the  institution. 

I  [.  The  Colleges  of  Agriculture,  Me- 
chanic Arts,  Mining,  and  Civil  Engi- 
neering, making  up  a  school  of  technol- 
ogy, established  by  Eederal  and  State 
patronage,  and  expanded  to  a  university 
by  the  adoption  into  itself  of  the  clas- 
sical college.  These  have  carried  out 
their  original  purpose  unaltered. 

III.  The  College  of  Chemistry,  a  sci- 
entific course  added  later  by  the  legisla- 
ture without  the  definite  technical  pur- 
pose ;  and  the  new  courses,  "Literary" 
and   "Letters    and    Political  Science," 
created  by  the  regents  nominally  with- 
in the  College  of  Letters.     These  rep- 
resent really  the  growth  and  expansion 
of  the  University,  the  branching  of  the 
trunk  growing  from  the  two  roots. 

IV.  The  graduate  and  research  work, 
now  just  beginning   to   rise  to   impor- 
tance ;   and  the  several   forms  of  out- 
reaching  work.     These  also  are  growths 
from  the  University's  self. 

V.  The    four    professional   schools, 
and  the  Lick  Astronomical  Department, 
acquired  by  gift  and  by  affiliation,  situ- 
ated at  some  distance  from  Berkeley, 
and   all   except   the  Astronomical   De- 
partment self-supporting. 

There  is  thus  sketched  out  an  almost 
complete  university  system :  when  the 
School  of  Design  is  added,  no  important 
department  of  learning  except  theologi- 
cal study  will  remain  unprovided  for. 
It  is  conceivable  that  some  time  the  way 
will  clear  for  a  non-sectarian  provision 


for  even  this.  As  for  the  filling  in  of 
the  outlines  :  —  Within  the  colleges  at 
Berkeley,  the  whole  ground  of  practica- 
ble undergraduate  study  will  be  covered 
with  a  little  more  increase  of  force 
and  adjustment  of  courses.  If  this  were 
all,  the  increase  of  funds  from  the  reg- 
ular sources  would  be  enough  to  keep  the 
University  in  the  front  rank  in  America. 
But  a  university  now  depends  more  on 
its  graduate  than  its  undergraduate 
work  for  its  status  ;  and  there  is  no 
such  thing  as  having  a  sufficient  reve- 
nue for  graduate  work,  for  this  has  all 
the  known  and  the  knowable  as  its  pro- 
vince. Besides  this  insatiable  demand, 
there  is  need  of  a  special  endowment 
for  the  Observatory,  not  less  than  half 
a  million,  and  of  endowments  for  all  the 
professional  schools,  and  especially  the 
medical. 

What  will  be  the  future  of  this  uni- 
versity ?  It  stands  now  fifth  or  sixth  in 
wealth,  seventh  in  numbers,  of  Ameri 
can  universities.  After  his  visit  here 
last  spring  President  Eliot,  of  Harvard, 
mentioned  the  University  of  California 
in  a  public  address  among  "five  leading 
American  universities."  Melvil  Dewey, 
State  Librarian  of  New  York,  at  a 
learned  gathering,  said  that  there  would 
be  ultimately  four  great  university  cen- 
ters  in  this  country,  —  Harvard,  ^ohmy 
in^y  Chicago,  and  the  University 


of  California.  When  such  things  are 
said  by  careful  men  at  a  distance,  peo- 
ple at  home  must  believe  that  the  proph- 
ecy may  be  fulfilled.  Whether  it  will 
be,  time  must  show.  It  will  take  many 
years  to  show  whether  the  Pacific 
center  of  university  life  will  finally  be 
at  Berkeley  or  Palo  Alto.  Some  ob- 
servers say  that  two  really  great  uni 
versities  cannot  exist  near  together. 
The  case  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
may  be  quoted  to  the  contrary.  In  any 
case,  the  University  of  California  has 
already  set  standards  that  can  not  be 
passed,  except  by  a  degree  of  attain- 
ment that  will  place  the  State  very  high 
in  the  world  of  learning. 

Milicent  W.  Shinn. 


602 


A  Peninsular  Centennial. 


[Dec. 


A  PENINSULAR  CENTENNIAL.     I. 

VANCOUVER'S  VISIT,  IN  1792,  TO  THE  BAY  AND  PENINSULA  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO. 


NOTABLE,  every  way,  was  the  incom- 
ing, that  winter  dusk  in  1792,  of  the 
first  foreign  ship  known  to  have  entered 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  bearing,  in 
the  person  of  its  distinguished  com- 
mander, the  forerunner  of  the  Teuton 
civilization  and  empire  which  was  to 
have  its  seat  on  the  waters  of  this  "  mar 
mediteraneo. 

Especially  true  is  this  to  that  historical 
student  who  touches  his  material  not  as 
debris,  to  be  sorted  and  labeled,  but  as 
clay,  and  this  not  of  the  brickmaker  but 
of  the  sculptor,  interpreting  a  thought 
not  his  own. 

The  narrative  runs  easily. 

On  April  I,  1791,  the  young  Lieuten- 
ant George  Vancouver,  then  but  thirty- 
three  years  old,  set  sail  in  his  sloop-of- 
war,  Discovery,  for  a  voyage  of  explora- 
tion in  the  Pacific  seas,  which  he  had 
twice  visited  as  a  member  of  Captain 
Cook's  party. 

After  visiting  and  surveying  portions 
of  Australia  and  New  Zealand  he  set 
out  for  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 

It  was  in  April  of  1792  that  he  sighted 
California,  just  south  of  Cape  Mendo- 
cino.  Two  hundred  and  fourteen  years 
had  elapsed  since  his  countryman  Drake 
had  visited  these  shores,  taking  posses- 
sion of  them  in  the  name  of  his  queen, 
Elizabeth,  and  giving  to  them  the  name 
of  New  Albion,  which  Vancouver  is 
careful  always  to  use.  Proceeding  north- 
ward the  young  explorer  surveyed  the 
coast  with  minute  care  to  a  point  north 
of  the  island  now  bearing  his  name,  and 
whose  insularity  he  was,  I  believe,  the 
first  to  prove.  It  was  exactly  two  hun- 
dred years  after  the  discovery  of  the 
island  by  Juan  de  Fuca. 

Vancouver's  work  "  formed  the  basis 


of  all  subsequent  surveys."  Some  broad 
lines  had  remained  to  be  drawn,  others 
wholly  re-drawn,  and  some  amazing 
ones  to  be  erased.  Of  these,  notably, 
were  the  lines,  drawn  with  some  detail, 
of  the  mythical  Straits  of  Anian,  as- 
sumed to  connect,  on  the  latitude  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans,  thus  forming  the  water-way  to 
Cathay  which  Columbus  had  sought  just 
three  hundred  years  before.  Thus  dis- 
solved the  dream,  sublimest  in  its  results 
of  all  illusions  of  men,  of  three  centu- 
ries. (Winsor,  however,  states  that  it 
lingered  in  some  minds  so  late  as  1806.) 

An  international  incident  at  Nootka 
Island  gives  color  to  Vancouver's  sub- 
sequent visit  to  the  Spanish  settlement. 
At  that  place  he  met  Senor  Quadra,  with 
whom  he  attempted  a  solution  of  certain 
problems  concerning  territorial  and 
trading  rights  claimed  by  Spain.  Their 
negotiations  reached  no  conclusion  oth- 
er than  a  reference  of  the  whole  matter 
to  a  convention  of  their  governments  ; 
but  in  this  intercourse,  that  were  so 
easily  productive  of  animosities,  was 
begun  a  generous  friendship  which  was 
afterward  so  to  advantage  the  one  and 
embarrass  the  other. 

And  now  on  November  15,  1792,  the 
Discovery  rounded  Point  Reyes,  and 
came  into  view  of  the  broad  sweep  of 
coast  line  fronting  the  Farallon  Islands, 
and  long  known  as  the  Port  of  San 
Francisco. 

In  this  open  bay,  or  bight,  several  in- 
dentations were  observable,  one  of  which 
the  young  explorer  knew  to  open  into 
the  newly  found  San  Francisco  Bay. 

That  this  noblest  of  American  har- 
bors should  have  remained  so  long  un- 
discovered—  assuming  that  it  is  not 


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